A Snowball's Chance
by Sheankelor
Summary: When the bargain was made, the odds were stacked against them. That was nothing new to Snape and Potter. But when even Death gives them a snowball's chance of surviving, can they succeed? EWE HP/SS This is for Pekeleke.
1. 1: Bargains and Home

_**AN:**This is a present for a wonderful friend for her helpful pushes and the use of her ear. Without her, then all of those who are enjoying__ Until the Time is Right_ and_ The Time is Right_ AKA -_The Seaside House Universe_, wouldn't be. So, thank you_** Pekeleke**_, you are one of the best. ^-^

_Many, many thanks go out to the other two who are the best...** Raya** and** Yengir**l, both whom have helped to beta this. _

___Real fast last minute note. Verus was chosen as Severus' nickname instead of Sev because I actually went to look up what Sev meant. I fear I now am going to have issues reading that nickname. I just can't see our Potions Master as an__ Indian snack food that is a spicy fried noodle. Verus is Latin for "real, true, proper, right" , so I used it.  
_

_Bargains and Home_

The pounding on the door was loud and sudden.

Severus' heart stopped for a second and then he ignored the urgent sound and flipped the page of his book. Whoever had found their way up to his front porch could wait until he had finished this section.

Eventually, the knocking got to him and he put the book down before stalking to the front door. With a glare to show his displeasure, he flung it open, his gaze landing on a short man who was scuttling off the porch. The man turned back, looking uncertain at best and scared at worst.

Severus let the full weight of his glare rest on the man, waiting to find out the reason for his insistent knocking.

"My Ma... she said to come here."

Severus watched as the man who was somewhere in his mid-twenties wrung his hands together. When no more information was forthcoming, he raised an eyebrow.

"Ma said to come here."

Harry crossed the front lawn, having felt the property wards' warning while he was deep in the woods. As he neared the house, he took in the scene before him. A brown haired nondescript man stood near the porch, wringing his hands and oblivious to the warning signs on Severus' face. Harry could tell that a hex would follow the moment Severus was sure their visitor was a wizard. The man's words floated over to where he was.

"She did. She said that what I needed would be here."

Holding a basket full of different sized twigs and plant parts in one hand, Harry stopped a couple of feet away from their visitor. "Hello."

The other man whipped about and stared at the dark haired bespectacled man. "Hi. I need your help."

Harry glanced at Severus to see what he knew about this. The raised eyebrow answered his question.

Taking in the twisting hands, Harry smiled slightly. "I fear you have me at a disadvantage since I am entering the conversation late. Can we go back to the introductions? I'm Harry Pope and I'm sure that you already know that this is," the look in Severus' eyes spoke volumes. He did not want his full name mentioned, "Verus Pope."

Distressed brown eyes widened for a moment. "Sorry... I forgot." He bit at his lower lip for a moment before continuing. "I am Donald Ferguson."

Harry nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Ferguson. Now what did you Ma see fit to send you here for?"

Ferguson looked over at the taller man that had yet to step out of the door. He took in the pale skin and the long black robes that seemed to mirror the man's stony eyes. The shoulder-length hair went with the monochromatic scheme as it was black with liberal streaks of white through it. He waited a moment more for the man to add to Harry's welcome. When none came, he turned back to the younger man. "My Annetra, she is sick."

Harry forced himself not to raise an eyebrow at this - Ferguson was obviously not one for long explanations. He was still trying to decipher if their visitor was a Muggle or a Wizard. "What is the matter with her? Neither one of us are doctors."

"Took her to St. Mungo's and they sent her home with lots of potions. Nothing works. I need something to make her better. Ma said that if I needed something impossible to happen, I should come here."

Harry's eyes met Severus'. This was out of his area of expertise.

Severus narrowed his eyes and gave the barest head shake. He refused to go out to the village, not when there was a possibility that he might run into Death. He had learned the last time they met that Death was still unhappy about him not being dead.

Holding back a sigh, Harry resigned himself to going with Ferguson and coming back to report his observations. He crossed over to Severus and handed over his basket. "Will you put that in my workroom?"

Once the basket was taken, he turned back towards their visitor. "Lead the way Mr. Ferguson, and I'll endeavor to find out what I can."

Ferguson beamed at the younger man. "This way, Master Pope."

Harry followed him. _'A master yes, but not a Potions Master as you seem to think.'_

Severus watched as Harry crossed their front lawn towards the fence, his gaze lingering on the well-toned body until they disappeared from sight. His mind was pulled back to the first time he had met Death in person.

ハリーポッターmemory lane セブルススネイプ

The first thing Severus realized was that he could feel the gritty feel of dirty floorboards underneath his palms. He was then conscious of the cloying, undeniable scent of spilled blood. Finally, as the conversation that was occurring over his head came into focus, vision returned and he was able to see the dimly lit room. He must still have his eyes open. Potter must not have had the decency to close them before he left.

"He shouldn't die!" Potter was glaring at Death.

Yes… Death, exactly as illustrated in the Tale of the Three Brothers in Severus' tattered copy of Tales of Beedle the Bard- hooded robe and skeletal hand clutching the long handle of a scythe.

_'Wait - Potter is arguing for my life?'_

"He was bitten by a venomous snake and has bled excessively. Why shouldn't he pass on?" The one hollow eye socket that was visible to Severus seemed to focus on the agitated man.

"I was hit with a killing curse, but I am still standing."

Severus watched as Potter's hand clenched at his side. So, the boy really did walk to his death. As Severus contemplated how Potter could still be standing here, or if this was his own entry into the afterlife, he started to wonder if he really wanted to live or die.

If someone had asked him that morning if he would want to die knowing that he had done all he could, he would have said yes without hesitation. There was nothing left for him here once all this was over. But now that he was facing his imminent demise, and Potter was arguing so fiercely for his life, he was starting to change his mind. Life wasn't such a bad thing if he survived Nagini's venom. He could move into the Muggle world and brew to his heart's content while living off of the hazard pay he had wormed out of Albus when he had first became a spy and teacher. He had locked it into a contract that was still valid today even after the old wizard's death.

"The fragment of a soul that resided in you took your place. It died instead. And since it was a long overdue arrival, I allowed the exchange. That is not the case here."

His inner musings were distracted by Death's adamant words. He focused on Potter's too thin face. Passion looked good on it. A lot better than the exhausted, resigned expression that had been there not that long ago.

Severus felt the vibrations through the floor as Potter paced about before stopping to look down at him. "I owe him too many life debts to count. That should mean something."

_'No! Do not make my effort a waste of time.' _

Severus wished he could glare at the boy, but although he could see, he couldn't move a muscle. As much as life was starting to sound more and more appealing now, Potter had more to live for than he did.

"It doesn't work that way." Severus was sure that Death would be smirking right now if it could. "And I do not think the man would agree to that solution. He has spent a lot of effort keeping you alive."

Potter shook his head furiously. "I didn't mean exchanging my soul for his. I meant that my debt should be paid by us sharing the rest of my time here on earth. I have only lived this long because of him. So, since my life is his, I think that he should be able to live as long as I do."

Potter and Death stared at each other.

"It would satisfy my debt." Potter sounded desperate.

Severus rolled the wording over in his mind. There were so many loopholes in that request. He could feel Death sizing up the bargain.

"So, Snape will live as long as you do. And if he dies, you will die as well?"

Potter's eyes narrowed. "That is my idea."

Severus mentally tensed at that. He wasn't sure about the idea of tying their lives together. Death was planning something, and he knew Potter was going to miss it.

Death leaned forward a bit and Severus saw his eye sockets giving off an eerie yellow glow. "You must live together... share everything... call the same place home."

Severus was glad that the migraine headache he could tell was there remained in the background. He could still think. He had to; there was something off about Death insisting they live together. Death obviously wanted him and Potter dead so it made more sense to order them to never see the other or die. That way, Severus wouldn't be able to look out for Potter and given the boy's impulsiveness, he would likely do something stupid soon and his death would pull Severus along with him. Or he might, out of some Gryffindorish sense of rightness, insist on clearing his name, and they run into each other at the trial or press conference.

It took a moment of mulling for it to come into focus. Home... that was the key word. They had to call the same place home. Death was counting on their tempers, mutual dislike and volatile past to deliver them to him faster. The moment one of them lost their temper and stormed out of their home... the moment one of them renounced that place, they would both die.

_'Potter needs to bargain better. He needs to build us in some breathing space. Death is going to set it up so that we are always right on top of each other. '_

Potter looked uncertain for a moment and then he pressed his lips together and nodded. "Okay. I think we can do that."

Death regarded him for a moment and then his gaze fell on the still form that lay at their feet.

"Let us first see what Severus Snape has to say to this chance, Harry Potter."

"Wait! If you remove the stasis spell, he'll die!"

_'That answers why I am alive enough for this conversation to happen.' _

Death focused back on Harry. "I am Death. If I say he is alive and well, then he is. And since I need him to be cognizant during this conversation, he shall be. If he refuses, then..." Death left the end off as the outcome was understood. He then waved his scythe towards Severus.

The migraine vanished. So did the lightheadedness, heavy feeling of exhaustion, throbbing pain in his throat and the aches throughout his body. Blinking his eyes, Severus struggled to his feet. He refused to bargain with Death lying down. Facing the entity that he had seen only in storybook illustrations, Severus drew a breath and started right in, ignoring Potter's gasp of surprise.

"We shall have to call the same building home, but do not need to share everything, especially the same room or bed." Even though Death had basically healed him, his voice was still raspy.

Severus felt the shock radiate off of Potter, but refused to look at the expression the boy was wearing.

"You shall have to spend every night together." Death's sockets faced Severus.

Potter cut in. "No. If one of us is traveling and cannot get back, then that would not work. As long as we call the same place home and sleep the majority of the time there, it should count."

"You will spend all nights barring one week a month at your home together." Death didn't sound happy at that.

Severus shook his head. "Half of the time, as long as we call the same building home."

Potter jumped in before Death could answer. "And as long as we stay at the same place even if it is not home. If we are traveling or visiting, we can stay in a hotel or at a friend's place as long as we are together and still call the same place home. Even if we are gone from that building for longer than a year."

Death tapped a bony finger on the handle of his scythe for a long moment. "Agreed. The moment that one dies, so does the other. You must call the same place home and spend at least two and a half weeks in a month under the same roof." He paused, turned from Potter to Severus and nodded as if in satisfaction. "You realize that despite your stipulations, you have a snowball's chance in hell of accomplishing that. You will both be mine soon enough."

Severus narrowed his eyes for a moment. "Let me talk to Potter in private before we agree to this." When Death gestured mockingly towards the far side of the room, Severus almost dragged the boy there before looking down at him. "Are you sure you want to do this, Potter?"

Potter had the cheek to smirk up at him. "Sir, at this moment a snowball's chance is more than what we both had the last time we were together in this shack. I think if we are both willing to make this work, it will."

"And what of your friends? Will they understand why you are living with me?" Severus searched those green eyes to make sure Potter had considered everything. Most likely not, but this was the last time he was going to try and get Potter to see what it was going to be like. He decided that he did want to live after all.

"They will eventually understand. And if they don't, then I guess I'll find a new set of friends…. although I doubt that will be necessary."

Potter sighed, obviously willing Severus to understand. "I can't let you die, Snape. Not when I can stop it." His young, haggard face hardened with determination. "They will understand that, especially if I bring up the number of times you saved me."

_'Potter truly is not like his father. James was willing to give up everything to save his family and friends, but had far less compassion for one that he had considered an enemy. And I know that Harry has considered me an enemy. I made sure of it. But he is willing to give up his freedom to save me.'_

Severus nodded slowly. Potter was right, his foolish Gryffindor friends would eventually accept a life debt as a reason for this bargain. Besides, he and Potter were only living together, nothing else. "A snowball's chance is better odds than I've had for more than a year, so I will accept."

Potter's smile was slow and genuine. "And so will I."

They walked back over to where Death was waiting.

"We accept this deal," Severus announced.

"You shall not be Potter and Snape since you shall be living together. Too confusing for the world." Death considered them for a very brief moment before continuing. "You need all the help you can get, so your last names shall be combined. From this point forward you shall be called Severus and Harry Pope. You must change all your assets to this name soon since in two weeks it will be the only legal one for you. But," he paused to look at each of them in turn, "it is a wasted effort. I am sure I will see you soon. Both of you."

Death then vanished, leaving them standing there in the grimy room.

Potter blinked at the spot for a few moments as though he couldn't believe the entire conversation had taken place. He took a deep breath and let it out, shoulders slumping before he turned to Snape. "He didn't give us a chance to debate that point."

Taking in Potter's shocked expression, Severus wondered why he wasn't just as stunned. It wasn't that common for him to talk to Death everyday. _'But then again, I have had Death as my shadow for so long. Maybe that is why it is a relief to finally be able to talk to him. Just like it was a relief to be called before Voldemort... I had a chance to know how they were thinking, and could influence the outcome.' _

Severus smirked. "I think it was his way of getting back at us for bargaining successfully with him earlier."

He didn't mention that it was going to be an uphill struggle for the both of them. Potter would find that out soon enough.

Potter shook his head. "But how did he get 'Pope', and how is that supposed to help us?"

Severus raised an eyebrow. Potter must really be tired not to have figured that out. "The "Po" is from Potter and the "pe" is from the end of Snape. And I think he was referring to the odds he thinks we have."

He looked at the door of the shack and then back at Potter. "You said that you were hit with the killing curse, and lived again. Since you are here, I assume that Voldemort is dead?"

Potter nodded and swallowed.

Watching those green eyes cloud over with deep sorrow, Severus felt his heart clench. Victory over Voldemort would not have come without sacrifices. "I would like to hear what happened." He made sure that his tone was as respectful as he could make it.

Potter sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "That is fair. Can you tell me what happened here over the last year?"

Severus raised an eyebrow. "Will you fill me in on your last year, as well?"

When Potter nodded, Severus gestured towards the door that opened into Hogsmeade. "Then we'll take the long way back. We can note the damage to the Forbidden Forest as we go."

At Potter's tired look of acceptance, Severus smirked. "There will be less people to hound us, and I know several spots where we can stop to rest."

He would make sure to gather food out of his hidden cache, Potter looked in desperate need of it. And he needed a few potions as well. He knew that his headache would be coming back as soon as they stepped into Hogwarts.

ハリーポッターthe presentセブルススネイプ

Harry tread the familiar path to the Muggle and Wizard mixed village. _'I wish I had the grocery list, I could have completed the store run while I am here.' _

He followed as Ferguson turned onto one of the smaller side roads that headed out into the outskirts that most of the Wizards lived in. Part of him wished Severus had come to see what was wrong with Annetra. He knew that the Potions Master would catch things that he was going to miss, but he also understood why Severus refused to go see a possibly dying patient. The events of that one week alone at Grimmauld Place still affected him.

ハリーポッターmemory lane セブルススネイプ

"Why are we here, Potter?" Snape took in the dusty stairwell and entry hall with barely disguised disdain. No. 12 Grimmauld Place didn't look as dirty as it had before, but it was still not a comfortable place.

Harry looked over at Snape, taking in the sneer. "It's my home right now. I thought it could be ours."

The sneer turned into a full out glare. "And what made you think I would ever want to call Black's old house 'home'?"

Harry folded his arms defensively across his chest and then he froze, feeling a spike of cold slide along his bones. It felt like Death was coming to claim him once again. _'We have to agree on a home, or we wil__l both __be dead. I need to make this quick.'_ "I don't have any other place to call home. Do you have somewhere else you would rather live? We can go there if you prefer."

Snape's hand griped his left arm as he shivered lightly. His face showed a moment of inner conflict. He was visibly torn between this house and someplace else. With a quick shake of his head, he turned to survey the hall once again. In a terse tone he snapped out his question. "May I have use of a room to be a potions lab?"

Harry drew in a settling breath. They had to live together, and he had known going into this that Snape was going to be temperamental. "It is your home as well, of course you can."

During dinner that night with a wary Kreacher in attendance, Snape explained how they were going to have to move all of their assets to their new names. "The most difficult part will be switching my Mastery paperwork."

It took them the entire two weeks that Death had granted to get the necessary changes finalized. Harry wasn't sure if Snape had used some illegal means, but it was done in time. During those two weeks, they learned that Dumbledore had set up a way to clear Snape's name from everything he had had to do as a spy. Harry hadn't understood it, but Severus had muttered something about archaic laws being useful for once.

The ministry demanded that Harry attend press meetings, and the press wanted what it could get out of Snape. Harry had been surprised that Snape agreed, but soon learned that the man hadn't been the Head of Slytherin on a whim. Harry started taking mental notes of the way the man played the press, getting them to clean up his old name.

Minerva had approached them separately at one of the many press conferences and requested that they help with the restoration of Hogwarts. The work on the castle ended the Ministry's demands on Snape's time**; **Minerva had seen to that.

They never arrived at the same time, and by a mutual unspoken agreement, they made sure that they worked on opposite sides of the castle, but returned to Grimmauld Place every night.

As the summer continued, the unspoken agreement had become a treaty. They avoided being around the other if they were tired or in a temper. If they were together, there were topics never broached. The Marauders and Lily were at the top of that list. If anything the other did pushed them almost too far, all they had to say was "snowball" and the other would walk away.

Near to his eighteenth birthday, Harry went to the Burrow for his annual summer visit. It had taken him several days of negotiations, but he managed to trim the visit down to just one week.

"Remember, this is home." Snape' eyes bored into Harry when he uttered those words and Harry knew why. The Burrow was a place that he had wanted to believe was his home every summer.

"I will. My home is with you. Wherever we reside," he replied solemnly.

Snape had watched him leave, his eyes as bleak as Harry had ever seen them.

Harry enjoyed his time away, but after just one day, a chill began to seep into his bones. It never let him forget that he had a promise to keep, but it wasn't until he arrived back home that he found out what had happened while he was away.

When he stepped through the floo back to Grimmauld Place, he was greeted with the sight of Snape reading in the front parlour. The man looked as poised as Harry had ever seen him, but he could see the relief shining in the dark eyes before it was masked.

The Potions Master gently put his book down and walked to the front door. Harry peered around him when he opened it and stared at Death sitting on the doorstep.

"He is home. You can leave now." Snape sounded as calm as he did when he lectured.

Both of them watched as the dark figure vanished and then Harry swung to Snape, worry on his face and his eyes huge. "How long has he been here?"

Snape headed back towards the kitchen. "Since the night you left. He only left long enough to perform his duties before returning here."

Harry shivered slightly and rubbed the goose bumps that popped up on his arms. While he was off having fun, Snape literally had Death waiting for them both on the doorstep. Now he was glad that he had convinced Mum Weasley that he had to head home before dinner. She had loaded him down with a basket of food that he was going to have to remember to get out of the parlour later.

Snape pulled the roast out of the oven. "I think he expected us to show up earlier and is making his displeasure known."

Harry gathered the plates and set the table. "Then he is going to have to be displeased for a long time to come."

Harry was glad he had nothing in his hands at that moment. He would have dropped everything at the honest smile that was flashed his way.

"I agree, he is."

ハリーポッターthe presentセブルススネイプ

Severus set the basket on the table in Harry's workroom. His fingers slid over the table top as he remembered Harry's final year at Hogwarts.

Harry had come home from his summer visit at the Weasleys' and talked about how Granger had been pressuring him to return to Hogwarts. He could tell that Harry wanted to, but wasn't going to make the decision without asking him. He remembered feeling amazed and grateful for the consideration.

Severus contacted Minerva and tried to get back his old job as Potions Master while she became Headmistress. But Slughorn didn't want to give up the post since Potter was coming back to the school and Minerva wanted to continue teaching Transfiguration.

In the end, Severus took up his previous mantle of Headmaster for Harry's last year. Consideration went both ways.

ハリーポッターmemory lane セブルススネイプ

Potter stormed into his office, his eyes bright and his face flushed. Severus locked up the response he felt at that look as well as the arousing images that came with it._ 'I shall be living with him when he marries and starts his own family. I cannot start thinking of him as attractive.' _

A letter ended up on his desk, and Potter was searching his face like he had come to do over the summer. He had to remind Potter that they were at Hogwarts. The deal with Death was a well kept secret. Neither of them wanted their vulnerability known to anyone. "What is the meaning of storming into my office without permission, Potter?"

Green eyes met his. When he saw the bewilderment hidden behind the anger, he knew more elaboration was needed.

"While I accept having an open door policy during school hours, I do insist that visitors knock and wait to be granted admittance outside of those hours. Please remember that in future. Now what is so urgent that you have forgotten common courtesy? A rampaging dragon in the Forest, perhaps? Or an accident on the Quidditch pitch?"

Potter took a deep breath as if forcing himself to calm down before gesturing towards the letter.

"I need your advice, Headmaster. They refuse to accept me."

Severus waited to see if any more information was forthcoming. When there was none, he raised an eyebrow. "Who refuses to accept the Savior of the Wizarding World, and how is that my problem?"

He could feel a shrewd gaze digging into his back, courtesy of a pair of painted blue eyes, but he ignored Albus. He had told Potter that he would never read someone else's mail unless it was a necessity. And since Potter could speak, it was not.

The boy, no man, crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the letter. "The Aurors. I was told that my Savior status was the reason why. I am too much of a liability. The criminals would try too hard to defeat me for bragging rights, and bystanders would get hurt."

Severus could hear the masked pain in Potter's voice, but refused to react to it. The last thing the teen needed was someone to pat him on the shoulder and tell him it was fine. "And how is this my problem? Surely, your Head of House can help with this."

Potter paced a few steps before he stopped and turned back to Severus. "I thought you would know what to do when you can't do what you want."

Severus was truly thankful that not one of the portraits could see his face right now. Resting his hands on the desk, he looked up into the aggravated face, letting his own expression show as much heartfelt honesty as he could bear to show. "Then you do what you have to do."

Understanding flooded Potter's face. The teen knew just how much Severus did not want to be the Headmaster. He was there so that they could both call Hogwarts home.

"Of course. Thank you, sir."

Potter picked up the letter and left a lot calmer than he had arrived.

ハリーポッターthe presentセブルススネイプ

Harry stepped into a small bedroom, and could smell the scents that he associated with illness: antiseptics, potions, and the underlying scent of illness. A quick look about the room showed that the windows were closed, and the lights were down low. After peering into the shadows, he felt a small weight fall off his shoulders.

Death was not there.

It had been a shock to see the entity on their doorstep that afternoon after his birthday visit, but it had been even more shocking to see Death when Harry had visited St. Mungo's a month later. Those glowing yellow sockets had pinned him to the floor, and he could feel the aggravation pouring off the entity.

Severus had refused to hand deliver potions to St. Mungo's after the seventh time. Death had followed him from room to room practically pinned to his shoulder.

"Master Pope, this is my Annetra." Ferguson gestured towards the bed.

Harry took in the pile of blankets and the sweaty dark blonde head resting on a lumpy pillow. He looked over at Ferguson when he pulled out his wand. "If I may?"

The man nodded quickly and then withdrew to stand near the door.

Harry didn't spare a thought of who Ferguson was looking for. He pulled the covers off Annetra a little bit at a time, watching to make sure she didn't get too cold. If Severus were there, they wouldn't have had to remove any of the layers. But even after all this time, Harry knew that his diagnostic charms were not as precise as Severus'.

Once he had enough layers removed, he could tell that she was about the same age as Ferguson. Casting the man an accessing look, Harry tried to determine how he was related to the young lady. The worry and anxiousness let him know that Ferguson cared about her, but their appearances belied any familial relationship._ 'Unless they are a couple.'_

Focusing back on Annetra, Harry cast his diagnostic spell and recorded the result. After he was done, he carefully replaced enough blankets so that she looked comfortable and heard a commotion at the door.

"Who is that? Donald, why are you bring strangers into the house!?"

Harry took in the gray hair and stooped shoulders of the old lady who had pushed passed Ferguson while she was scolding him. She had the same rounded face and pointed nose that Annetra had.

"He's Master Pope from up at Snowball. I asked him to look at Annetra. He might can help." Ferguson moved between Harry and the old lady.

Faded blue eyes met bright green. "The healers at St. Mungo's said that it was only a matter of time. That there's not a thing to be done." She shifted her gaze to Ferguson and back again. "But if it helps him accept it then do what you will. If you can make the passing easier, I'll thank you for it."

Keeping his face impassive, Harry forced himself not to look in any of the shadowy corners of the room again. The old lady seemed positive Death was hovering at the door. "I'll do what I can, but I need to consult with Verus. So, if you will excuse me?"

The old lady gave him a knowing look, and kept Ferguson from badgering him for a diagnosis.

Harry didn't want to tell them both that he had no idea what was the matter. Severus was much better at figuring out mysterious illnesses. Harry was positive it came from having to create specialty potions for some of the strangest illnesses. Severus had to learn about those illnesses to succeed.

Harry quickly left the house, but he made sure to check all corners once again for the Grim Reaper. He was nowhere to be seen which meant that the girl still had a chance.

He made his way through the fields until he came to the path that lead home. As he climbed a hill, he examined the woods that were filling in the left side of the path. He spotted the trees that he had harvested for the last couple of seasons. They were growing back fine. He would be sure to work in a different section of the forest for the next couple of years to let the first one finish recouping. He eventually passed the edge of the woods, his eyes automatically zeroing in on the sign that hung on the post. It brought a smile to his face.

This was their home. A place that they had picked together and they had named it aptly.

His gaze traced out the words 'Snowball's Chance' as his mind was pulled back to when they were still having home issues.

ハリーポッターmemory lane セブルススネイプ

The cold was settling close to his bones. Harry shifted on the bench and peered up at the head table. He needed to know if Snape was feeling the warning because Death didn't like the liberty they were taking with the definition of home. When the black eyes met his, Harry knew that Snape had a solution. Being as subtle as possible, he watched the Headmaster throughout the rest of dinner.

The only hint he received was when dinner was over. Snape walked next to the Gryffindor table, pinned Harry with a pointed look, and swished his cloak before walking out the door.

Dean leaned over before softly commenting to Neville. "Snape must be having problems with his billow effect."

Neville nodded. "I've never seen him actually make his cloak move with his hands before."

Harry paused in the middle of getting up. _'Cloak! He wants me to use my cloak to meet up with him... but where?'_

Seamus put a hand on Harry's shoulder and pushed him back into his seat. "Wait, Harry. Snape went out the main doors. There might be something that we are not supposed to deal with out there."

Ron cast Seamus an 'are you crazy look' as Hermione quickly grabbed Harry's other arm. Harry barely registered either of the actions. _'Hall duty. That was the rest of the clue. Thanks guys! Not that I can tell you that out loud.'_

Focusing, he shook his head at his two friends. "I'm not going to be running after Death again. I'll wait to see if he can find me."

He grinned at the chorus of disbelieving snorts that came from his year mates.

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Later that evening found him under his cloak, waiting in the hallway that he knew Snape frequented. When the Headmaster passed him, Harry made sure to brush a hand against him. Snape gave the barest pause and then continued on his way.

Harry followed in his wake and was surprised when they came to the gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster's Office. There were too many ears and eyes in that room for the conversation that they needed to have.

"Tincture."

Harry waited as the gargoyle moved out of the way. He was even more surprised when Snape didn't move up the stairs but instead faced the blank exposed wall that was under the arch of the stair.

"Lemon drops."

Doing his best not to let his eyes bug out, Harry followed Snape through the door that materialized in the wall, into a sitting room and through another door set on the far side of the quarters. He made sure to brush Snape's hand when he passed him so that the Headmaster would know that he was in the room.

Snape closed the door behind him and gestured for Harry to remove the cloak.

"Death seems to think we need to be a little less vague with our definition of home. I cannot move into the dormitories with you, so you shall have to move into the Headmaster Family Quarters with me. You may have this room or the one to the left of it. The bedrooms and bathroom are the only places without portraits. You need to -"

Harry cut in. "Wear my cloak when passing through, and I have to enter when you do. I always thought that the Headmaster's room was in the office… behind the desk." He surveyed the room. It was bigger than the one back at Privet Drive, and cleaner than the one at Grimmauld Place. There was a comfortable looking bed, a nightstand and a wardrobe.

The corner of Snape's mouth quirked up. "There is a set of rooms there, but I opened the Family Quarters so that we could share the space. My room is to the right of this one. All are accessible by the sitting room. That door," Snape gestured towards the narrow door in the far wall,"leads directly to the restroom. If the door does not open, then it is in use."

Snape glanced about the sparsely furnished room. "I can ask the elves to bring in anything you require."

Harry shook his head. "Then they would be suspicious. They are already going to be when they clean up the place."

He wondered at the smirk that suddenly appeared on Snape's face.

"As the elves do not clean my quarters, Potter, they will have nothing to be suspicious of."

"Then we certainly cannot ask them to bring anything up. That will make them curious." Harry focused back on Snape. "When and where shall I meet you?"

Snape leaned against the door. "You know my time to walk the halls and my last stop?"

Harry nodded. Most of Snape's route was erratic, but he always stopped last at the room where Harry had met him earlier.

"I'll be there."

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Harry was grateful that he was known to roam about the school at night, and was also known not to end back up in the dorm room until it was time to head to breakfast. It made his stays at Snape's quarters unnoticeable. The only issue he had were his clothes. If the quarters were truly his home, then his clothes and personal effects would need to be in there.

After a few days, Snape sat a trunk down at the foot of Harry's bed. It wasn't a new trunk, but it was still in good shape. "Take the uniforms out of there and transfer them to your trunk in the dorm. And then bring yours in here. If you do it carefully enough, then it won't be noticeable. It is going to be a continuous thing since the elves will continue to deliver your clean laundry to the dorm."

Harry nodded as he took in the slightly worn uniforms in the trunk. Only the patches and the ties looked almost new. "If I had a bag to carry them back and forth in like Hermione's..."

Snape passed him a small bag. "Charm it yourself."

It was after that day that the cold receded.

Harry got used to Snape just entering his room on occasion. The man could not knock because it would stand out to the portraits that populated the sitting room. They had decided to say that Snape was using the room as a personal library to give him a reason to be spending time in a supposedly empty room.

Several weeks later Harry was stretched out on the floor working on his homework when the door opened and closed behind him. He felt the dark eyes resting on him for a moment before Snape crossed the room and sat in the chair that Harry left for him. Next to it was a trunk full of shrunken books that was the library that Snape had moved into the room.

Rolling onto his side, Harry let his eyes flow up Snape's body before stopping at his face with an inquiring look. The Headmaster only came in if there was something that he wanted to talk about.

"I can find and move a desk in here for you."

Harry shook his head. "Too much chance that someone will find out. The elves especially. They are already upset that you don't let them clean in here. They will notice a missing desk and begin an all out search."

It was a side effect of having Snape as the Headmaster. The elves refused to lose a thing since they didn't want to face his well-known temper. They were positive that Snape would know if anything disappeared. His uncanny ability to know when something was missing from his potions storage closets had convinced them of that.

Snape sighed and settled back into his seat. "Then you can go into my room and use mine. I will make sure that any sensitive papers are put away."

Harry felt his eyes widen. He couldn't believe that Snape was offering him free access to his room. "Why? I mean... it is your room."

He was even more amazed when the man ran a hand through his hair and then leaned forward with an earnest expression on his face.

"This is supposed to be your home as well as mine. You cannot feel at home being regulated to, and basically locked into, one room. Normally, you would have free run of every room but mine. But that can't happen. So, you need to have free run of all the places you can. As well as have access to all the things you need to use. In these special circumstances, that means you have access to my room and my desk since, as you pointed out, the elves will notice if I move one in here."

Harry stared into the intense dark eyes and felt a stir of the attraction that he was trying to ignore. Looking down at the carpet, he considered the offer. He was quite used to being locked into a single room, but it obviously bothered Snape. Looking back up, he smiled. "I'll make sure to wear the cloak through the sitting room. Are you going to leave the door open?"

Snape nodded. "The desk is at an angle that no one can see it from the sitting room. If I shut the door, remain there and quiet. There is a visitor either expected or here already."

Harry nodded.

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Harry slammed the book down on the bed in the Gryffindor dorm.

Ron looked over at him and took in the frustration that was written on his best mate's face. "What is it?"

Harry glared at the book as he felt the bed dip under Ron's weight. "I cannot find a single career that will allow me to stay at home while I train."

He looked up in time to catch the puzzled look on Ron's face.

"Why do you want to stay home?" The question came from Neville.

Harry frowned slightly while he tried to figure out how to answer Neville without telling them the reason. He shot a look over at Ron who waited to hear what he had to say.

"I've never had a place to really call home. Even my Aunt's place was just that: her place. I want to move out of Grimmauld Place, that was Sirius' house. I need to both find a new place and make it feel like home." A sigh escaped. "But I also want to get a mastery in some skill. I just thought it would be easier to live at the house while I got my mastery. It would gain the 'home' feel I want faster that way."

He didn't see Neville, Ron, Seamus, or Dean's eyes meet since he was tracing patterns in the thick red fleece blanket that covered the foot of his bed.

"Do you already have a house you want to look at? Or at least a set of requirements?" Neville leaned forward slightly waiting for his answer.

"I'm looking, but I haven't had much luck. I don't want everyone to know it is me who is looking. I want a home that is near a town that at least has some Wizards. It has to have enough space to grow in. A work room and a place to store stuff. A garden." Harry watched his fingers as they moved the nap in the fleece, making it change from a lighter red to a darker red to light again. "Kind of like the Burrow."

"What do you want to learn?" It was Dean that took up the questioning now.

Harry swiped the pattern away, like an eraser cleans the chalk off a board, and flung himself back onto the bed. "I want to be an auror. But it isn't happening." He stared up at the canopy for a long moment before he continued. "Something creative. I want to make something. That is why I want a workshop."

He wasn't going to mention that it was going to be Severus' workshop. He would make do with whatever space he could find until he figured out what it was he wanted to do.

It was after that conversation that Harry realized just how much the boys in his dorm stuck together. Sure, they kept his nightly wandering quiet. All they did was stop him periodically and look him over in the morning to make sure that he was resting somewhere. Ron had asked him one time if he was staying somewhere safe. Now though, there were articles, newspaper clippings, and even names of realtors being left on his bed.

Two weeks later, they made sure the door was locked after Harry had come into the room. Ron smiled at him and handed him a list. "I asked George, Bill, Charlie, and Percy for ideas for you. Percy and George had the best ones."

Neville rocked on his heels. "I asked Gran. She is even looking into houses that might be available."

Seamus and Dean leaned against the bed posts. "We've scoured every book we could think of and asked all the Heads of Houses. Even Slughorn. Sorry, but we weren't approaching Snape."

Harry grinned at that before looking at the list. Name after name of notable Wizarding masters filled the page. Right next to the names was the mastery that they would train you in. Looking back up, he met each of their eyes. "Thank you."

Ron smiled and clapped him on the shoulder. "You can thank us by telling us which one you are going to pick. Dean and Seamus want to borrow the list afterwards."

Harry shot a look over at the two.

"You aren't the only one who wants to stay home and learn. And we have the best list in the school..."

Harry couldn't help but laugh.

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He had all the property choices scattered across the desk in Snape's room when the man came through the door. Harry watched as he paused and almost turned about before thinking better of it. Closing the door, he nodded to Harry before crossing the room to the far side. Harry pulled his eyes away from Snape as he stripped out of the Headmaster robes and put on a more comfortable set.

"Snape, can we go off during Christmas break?"

Snape raised an eyebrow as he took in the listings on the desk. "You wish to go house hunting?"

Harry nodded. "We need to find somewhere we both can call home."

As Snape nodded in agreement, Harry continued. "I've decided to become a wandcrafter. There is a master that will let me come home every night."

"Is this what you want to do?" The dark eyes searched his face.

Consciously mimicking Snape, Harry rested both hands on the desk. "It is not a matter of want, it is the best option available. I might enjoy it."

He could feel the consideration in Snape's gaze before the man nodded again. "Are you are taking all the NEWTs classes that you will need?"

Harry nodded. "I do need to pick up an OWL in Runes but Hermione is helping me with that. I'm considering asking Professor McGonagall to let me take DADA as a study hall but still take that NEWT. I can use that class time to study the Runes."

He watched as a frown creased Snape's brow for a moment. "I'll give Minerva permission for the change. Do not forget to get a waiver application for both tests. Since you are not sitting in the classes, you will need one." He stopped a moment before continuing. "If you need any help with the Runes while Miss Granger is away for the holiday, I am willing to aid."

Harry blinked for a moment and fought off the memories of his special classes with Snape back in fifth year. This time it would be different, he hoped. "Thanks. If I need help, I'll ask."

Snape looked down at the parchments on the desk. "What are our options?"

Harry took the rest of the evening to explain what his dorm mates had found for him.

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They had started house hunting two days after Christmas.

Harry remembered his surprise on Christmas morning. He hadn't expected a present from Snape, even though he had one for the Headmaster. He had watched anxiously as Snape had opened the box of journals and quills. It wasn't much, but it was all he could think of that wasn't too cliché for a Potions Master. A soft 'thank you' calmed his nerves.

His present from Snape had brought a smile. It was a portable lap desk. He had barely used the offered desk in Snape's room, and more often than not, he could be found stretched out on the floor. Over the break, as the castle had become colder, Snape would glare at him for it.

The gift that had him rolling on the floor laughing was the one Snape had bought and labeled from both of them to Death. Snape had explained that it was scythe polish and that he was sure that Death would stop by to pick it up later.

They then spent the last couple of days looking over dozens of places. Their wizard realtor was about ready to pull his hair out if Harry was reading him right. Whatever Harry liked, Snape didn't and vice versa.

Pulling his thoughts to the present and the house they were currently looking at, Harry peered about. It was a comfortable place with all the requirements that he had stipulated. When he caught Snape's expression though, he knew they weren't going to get this house either.

He walked back out into the snow covered front yard and peered down the little track that headed towards the road. The neighbors were about as close as the ones on Privet Drive. He realized that was the problem as he felt Snape step out behind him. He looked over at the waiting realtor. "Sorry, not this one either. We need a bit more space around us."

The mousy looking man frowned for a moment before his eyes brightened. "I have just the place." He pulled a key out of his pocket and held it out to them.

Harry watched as Snape touched the portkey before he did. He still didn't like traveling by them.

The house they appeared at was set back from the road in the middle of what was an obviously well kept lawn even under the snow. The houses were visible on both sides but were not so close that the neighbors could be as nosy as Aunt Petunia loved to be. Harry could feel the tension leak out of Snape. Things were already more positive than the last house. The realtor introduced them to the owner who showed them about. The house was just what Harry had envisioned, with one problem. There was no workroom anywhere to be seen.

Harry interrupted the realtor's conversation with the owner. "Is there a workroom here?"

The owner smiled at him. "It is a separate building. Let me show you."

She headed out the kitchen door and they followed her as they trekked to the far back corner of the property. They could fit an entire Quidditch pitch between the house and the workroom.

Harry hoped it would be a brilliant workroom to make up for the distance. His hopes were again dashed when he saw the space. It was barely as big as Snape's makeshift lab at Grimmauld Place and in worse shape. "Thanks."

Turning away, he felt Snape's hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"If you will give us a moment, please."

Snape guided him just out of earshot before he continued. "This is a good spot. The workroom will do."

Harry glared up at the man. "No. It is to be your home, too. You have to have a space that fits your needs. Not a makeshift afterthought." He caught the quickly masked surprise.

Snape shook his head. "I can always build a workroom. Or modify an existing one."

Harry glared at the tiny building crammed in the corner of the property. "Then it has to be closer to the house. It is unacceptable that you would have to run through the rain or cold to get there."

Snape smirked a bit. That was an acceptable condition to him.

As they walked back to the realtor and the owner, they could hear their conversation. "It doesn't matter what they pick. Those brothers are not going to stay together. Their tastes are so different that one is going to move out within a week."

The owner nodded in agreement with the realtor. "They don't have a chance, do they? I think the younger likes this place, but the elder doesn't."

"Except the workshop. The younger is more picky about that space than the elder. I'm curious what his profession is."

"You don't know?"

"They haven't mentioned what either of them do for a profession. The Popes are a very tight-lipped set of brothers."

The conversation halted when they spotted Harry and Snape approaching.

ハリーポッターthe presentセブルススネイプ

Harry walked past the signpost with a smile curling his lips. People were always doubting that they could make it, but Ron and Hermione hadn't doubted when they learned of it and neither had any of the Weasleys.

The rest just didn't understand the willpower that had pushed him and Severus through things darker and uglier than just living with someone they could kind of tolerate and respect. But then again, the Weasleys and Hermione knew about the Dursleys and had some idea of what Snape had put up with as a spy.

Snowball's Chance had finally been discovered by Ron, George and Percy sometime in the middle of the following spring. Not one of them would say who had actually found the place.

The property had been abandoned for at least a century before Harry and Severus purchased it, and most people thought it was haunted by the worst types of spooks. They were right, it had been. But those spooks had learned that an ex-Death Eater Spy and the Savior of the Wizarding World were not the right ones to go against. Especially when they had found a place they could both agree on.

Ron, Hermione, George and Percy had taken it upon themselves to visit occasionally, and decided that Harry needed help with the clean up. They called in the one person who could scour away hundreds of years of filth clean while making it look easy. And she could command a large army of forced volunteered laborers.

Molly Weasley ordered the entire Weasley clan over, and they cleaned the place until it sparkled. Those who had helped clean Grimmauld Place agreed that this place was easier. At least there weren't any miscellaneous unlabeled dark objects just sitting around.

It was during the Weasley invasion, which they had since named the 'Great Cleaning', that the Weasleys and Hermione discovered that he was living with Severus. Molly had commandeered the kitchen to make supper and to talk to Harry, and Arthur had cornered Severus in one of the labs.

It was over dinner, after an oath of secrecy, that Harry had explained the deal with Death. He could still clearly remember Severus shaking his head after the Weasleys had left, proclaiming them all hopeless Gryffindors for not raising a bit of Cain. They had just accepted it as one of those things that happened to Harry, and Ron's eyes had filled with understanding. Ginny had looked from him to Severus before glancing about the house.

She had later told Harry that she was attempting to figure out how they were all going to live there and not break the deal.


	2. 2: Working together

_AN: Major thanks to Yengirl and Raya Light for their massive help making this make sense. They are the best... As is the person this is gifted to, Pekeleke.  
_

_Working Together_

ハリーポッターthe presentセブルススネイプ

Severus left Harry's workroom and headed for his own. He smiled as he remembered the delight on Harry's face when they had discovered two workrooms connected to the house instead of one. It was then he had realized that Harry had been solely looking for a work space for him, and not for himself. That bit of kindness had made Severus fight the creatures that had taken up residence around the property all the harder.

As he rounded the corner and came to his own lab door, he smirked. The young poltergeist they had found in there had been a bugger. That was, until Severus had lost his temper and called for Peeves to remove the upstart from his new lab. Peeves had taken one look at Severus face, asked for a long term supply of prank potions, and removed the young poltergeist from the premises. No one questioned how Peeves had gotten there.

Making a mental note to send the next shipment to Peeves, Severus headed into his lab to start making the more unusual healing potion bases. If Ferguson had already been to St. Mungo's, then they had tried the standard ones.

With a knife in hand, his eyes settled on the spot opposite him. He remembered Harry relearning how to make potions in this room.

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Potter stormed through the front door, his face a picture of frustration. Severus watched as he crossed the living room and threw a book onto the coffee table. He then crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and compressed his lips in an obvious attempt to pull himself back under control.

"I need your help." Potter's face still showed his frustration, but his tone was level.

Severus looked at the book and back to Potter. "With what?"

An agitated hand ran through the mop of black hair. "I have to make a Conditioning Potion to soak the wand ingredients in. And I keep messing it up. I follow the directions, but it isn't working!" He clamped his lips shut as the last line almost came out as a shout.

Leaning over, Potter flipped the book open to a page and then walked towards the kitchen. "That is it. You can look at it if you wish to help. I'm going to make dinner."

Severus picked up the book and read over a potion he would only assign to his best student. It wouldn't be too hard if you understood how to work with the ingredients and were meticulous. He wondered how many of the apprentices were having problems with the potion.

Setting the book aside, he gathered a length of parchment and his quill before heading to the kitchen. He sat down and carefully noted every step that Potter used to cook. When the food was ready, he set a clean piece of parchment on the table. "Potter."

A calmer face peered over the counter. "Can you set the table, Snape?"

Severus nodded. "I want you to come over here and write out exactly how you made dinner." He watched as bemusement settled into the green eyes.

"Why?" Even as he spoke, Potter crossed the room and picked up the quill.

"I want to see something. I'll finish up, you write." Severus watched until he started writing before heading into the kitchen area. He took a moment to wash the up everything he could after he had made their plates.

It wasn't until after they finished eating that Severus checked out what Potter had written down. Scanning the paper, he noted exactly what Potter's problem was. He took out his parchment and pushed both back over toward the other man. "What is the difference between what we wrote down?"

Potter looked over both, eyes widening as he examined Severus'. "You noted the thickness of the carrot slices I cut, and the quantity I added at a time. And not just the carrots, but everything."

He raised his eyes to Snape's. "Details, that is what you are saying I am not getting?"

Severus smirked. "It was the main flaw I saw when you were in class, and it might still be the one now. Let's go to the lab and brew your potion."

Potter sighed and headed down the hall after collecting his book. They would finish the dishes later.

Severus directed him to one side of his lab table while he took up the opposite one. "I'm going to brew while you are working. I will be correcting you as you go if I need to." He pinned Harry with a stern look. "Do not forget that you asked for my help."

Harry shook his head. "I won't forget. Is there anything in here I cannot touch or use?"

Severus pointed to the cauldrons in the far corner of the room. "Those shouldn't be breathed on for the next twenty-four hours, so do avoid their vicinity."

With a nod, Harry went to collect a cauldron and his ingredients. The book was opened between them.

He was raising his wand to add water to the cauldron when Severus stopped him.

"Prepare the ingredients first."

Harry frowned at him.

"No one else does when they make the potion."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "You asked for my help, not theirs."

Harry raised a hand as if he was surrendering. "I wasn't meaning to argue, I just want to know why." He looked at Severus, an earnest expression filling his face. "You always have a reason. I've learned that. If I know that reason, then I'll understand as well. I hope."

Severus contemplated Harry's face and nodded.

"This set of ingredients requires precise timing and care when added. Seconds are all that stand between a good potion and a ruined one. Those seconds are easily lost if you are still preparing the ingredients."

Harry's eyes widened, lips forming an 'o' of comprehension.

Pulling his attention from those wide green eyes, Severus started his own potion. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Harry started cutting up the sassafras root.

"Harry! Pay attention. It says to cut it into quarter inch cubes."

Harry looked from the irregular sized chunks to Severus, his question written on his face.

"Yes, it matters. If you were cooking and the recipe called for exact sizes, should you just add any size chunks?" He tried not to glare too harshly while he waited on an answer. Really, the young man knew better.

"No, they'll cook at different rates..."

Severus watched as realization dawned on Harry's face. "And this potion is already finicky enough." He pushed a mortar over towards Harry. "Put them in there. I need ground sassafras in my potion. Start again."

He waited until Harry started again, making sure that the new root was being cut exactly right before he started grinding the poorly cut root. The sound of a knife slicing stopped and again, he looked at Harry out of the corner of his eye. Those green eyes were focused on him grinding the root. Goose bumps prickled on his skin at the way Harry was staring at his hands and arms. _'He can't be attracted to me. Miss Weasley is still waiting on him. Don't read too much in his attention.' _ It was at that moment he realized that he had started calling him Harry.

Harry continued meticulously preparing the ingredients he was going to need. Every once in a while, Severus felt a contemplative gaze rest on him, but he refused to read anything into it.

When the last ingredient was done, Harry aimed his wand at the cauldron and started to add water to it.

"Stop." Severus waited until Harry was looking at him before he continued. "Do you know exactly how much water you are adding to that cauldron?"

Harry glanced at the surface of the water, attempting to judge how much was in there. "Not exactly. But if I add the water up to about an inch under the rim, it should be enough."

Severus shook his head. "That cauldron has a slight flat spot on the bottom. You should never guess at the water level. And you should not use conjured water unless the potion calls for pure water. It is missing the energy that is present in ground water."

He hunted for an old set of liquid measuring cups on an upper shelf and set them on the table between them. "Measure the water until you know your cauldron."

Harry dumped the water out and then measured the correct amount into the cauldron. His frowned when he saw the difference in the amount of water. Setting the cup to the side, he started a fire. "Can I borrow the measuring cups? I have to use Master Cummings' cauldrons."

Severus nodded his permission as he watched Harry add the sassafras when the water in the cauldron reached a roiling boil.

The first part of the potion went well, and Harry was obviously happy that the ingredients were already precut and measured. He gently sprinkled the crushed mint leaves on the top of the blue potion and waited until the faintest blush of silver started to form across the top before he picked up the stirring rod from where it was resting against the rim of the cauldron.

"Not yet. Let the silver cover the entire surface, and then move the rod just enough to make a hole in the silver coating that is twice the size of the stirring rod." Severus kept his tone mild, doing his best not to make Harry jump and ruin the potion.

Harry frowned at him. "But when the others who have succeeded in this potion make it, they don't wait on that."

Severus smirked. "I doubt they did a perfect potion then. The ingredients will tell you how to brew it as well as the directions. Mint silvering requires that the entire cauldron be covered in the silver for the potion to work to the best of its ability."

He watched as Harry looked back at the book. The step clearly stated that it was a mint silvering. "Why doesn't it say what that means in here?"

"I'm not the author, but I would hazard to guess that they wanted you to look it up. Now, watch the surface and have the almond juice ready." He grabbed Harry's hand as he fumbled for the container of juice. "Do not get that on your hands. Nor ingest it. It is filled with cyanide. I would like to live a bit longer."

Harry picked it up carefully. "Is there a trick to adding this?"

Severus felt his lips turn up at the corners. "Use the stirring rod. Let the juice pour down the rod, and then wait until the potion turns pink. You'll know it is ready when the area that you have moved the silver out of is completely pink."

Harry nodded with his eyes on the silver that was covering most of the surface. It only took a few more seconds until the entire surface looked like a mirror. Moving the stirring rod, he did exactly as Severus had said to do and watched as the pink started at the bottom. The color slowly pushed towards the surface. "What do I do when it is all pink?"

"Fold the silver in, just like adding beaten egg whites into a batter." Severus caught Harry's grin. "You do not want the silver to completely vanish into the pink."

Severus watched as Harry followed his directions. "Add the mimosa beans in a circle about halfway to the center of the cauldron."

Harry scooped the up and then frowned at Severus. "It just says to add them."

Severus narrowed his eyes slightly. "I have already stated that I didn't write the book. If you wish to do as it says, I can stop attempting to aid you."

Harry shook his head quickly, his eyes trained on the potion and his fingers gently stroking over a rough spot on the stirring rod. "I just don't know why such important pieces of information were left out, and why Master Cummings didn't tell us."

"Add the beans and try not to let them touch a patch of silver."

Severus found himself staring at the way Harry's fingers were sliding over that rough spot. He knew each piece of his equipment to the point that they were almost part of himself. Harry's fingers stroking the stirring rod brought up an image of Harry doing that to his –

Squelching his arousal the best he could, Severus continued in a steady voice. "Do not stir until the green makes a continuous circle where you dropped the beans. Then stir four times clockwise in the pink between the cauldron edge and the green circle. Then four times counter clockwise in the inner pink circle. Be sure not to touch the green."

Harry followed the directions precisely. The green swirled into the pink slowly following the path of the stirring rod.

"Now, ten figure eight motions through the entire cauldron. As soon as you finish the eighth, start to sprinkle the ground up lace-wings."

When Harry had finished, he stared at the concoction in the cauldron. "I don't know if the silver sheen is supposed to be there, but it is the best one I've ever made. Thanks, Severus."

Severus fought the shiver of pleasure at hearing Harry say his name. "Bottle it, and then brew it again, without my help."

Harry flashed him a smile before he did as he was told.

ハリーポッターthe presentセブルススネイプ

Harry glanced over his shoulder attempting to get one last glimpse of the signpost and the fence. The top of the post was barely visible over the hill top he just crested. Smiling lightly as he continued down the hill, he was glad their home was isolated enough to make even a solitary person like Severus comfortable. He paused as he passed his potions garden. A quick glance over the multitude of plants showed that it was time to do some harvesting. He knew Severus was waiting for him to tell him about the girl though. _'I'll just have to remember to come out here later tonight.'_

The sight of the flourishing plants reminded him of when he had gained his own potions garden. It started the first time he had asked Severus for help with a potion. _'I'm glad I did. It brought us closer together. We understood each other more.' _

His smile softened as his mind once more drifted back in time.

ハリーポッターmemory lane セブルススネイプ

Harry studied the potion in the cauldron. Severus had not said a thing bad about it so that meant it was good. It looked quite similar to the ones made by the other apprentices who had passed.

"Bottle it, and then brew it again, without my help."

Flashing Severus a smile, Harry emptied and cleaned the cauldron. Picking up the knife he had been using, he gave it a forlorn look. He wished he had a set that was this good. His were not nearly half as sharp and would hardly hold an edge. The ones at Master Cummings' were almost as bad as his.

"You have a problem with my knife?"

Harry quickly shook his head no. "Just wishing mine were this good. I'm still using the basic school set that I've had forever, and whatever Master Cummings has isn't much better. I guess I should take a trip to Diagon Alley soon."

He watched as a frown appeared and vanished on Severus' face. The dark man turned quickly, reached up, and searched about on a high shelf. Harry traced the length of his body with his eyes before trying to stop. _'You know you shouldn't look. He isn't interested in you. We're barely getting along. We're civil now at least, and he is helping me... I shouldn't feed the attraction.'_

Severus returned to the table with a faded blue rolled up bundle of cloth. He untied two knots that fought him for a moment. Harry stared at the contents as the cloth unrolled.

"You can use these until then." Onyx eyes pinned Harry to the floor. "Be careful with them."

Harry accepted the blue cloth. There, in their own individual sheath pockets, were a set of potion making tools. Pulling one of the knives, he stared at the edge of the blade. It was sharper than the one that he was currently using.

"Put the tools away clean and ready to use. The measuring cups you want to use will shrink with a tap of your wand on the handle and fit into the large holding pocket on the side."

That was why the blade was so sharp, Severus always sharpened them before putting them away. _'And considering how sharp the ones I am currently using are...'_

"Use them now so that you have practiced with them." Severus started to gesture for him to begin, but stopped. "What type of cauldron are you using there?"

Harry blinked. "A brass one."

Severus shook his head sharply. "It needs to be iron with those ingredients, or a blackened pewter at the very least. Make sure you chose the right one next time." He finished the gesture for Harry to continue working.

"Thanks, Severus." It was the second time Harry had used Severus' given name, but the man still didn't correct him.

It was late that night, after making the potion three more times to Severus' standard, when he finally went to bed. His book was littered with as many notes as the Half Blood Prince would have made.

The next day found Harry in Master Cummings' lab, hunting through the stack of cauldrons, looking for one that might fit Severus' requirements. He finally found one tucked back against the far wall covered in a thick layer of dust. Pulling it out, he washed it and put it at his work station. He ignored the questioning looks from the other apprentices as he went to collect his ingredients. They would never understand why he had chosen that particular pewter cauldron.

Master Cummings ordered them to begin, and Harry started just has he had practiced. He smiled as the knife cut through the sassafras root smoothly. He was halfway through preparing his ingredients when Journeywoman Tiffany stopped next to him.

"Why have you not started brewing yet?" The blonde lady frowned at the empty cauldron.

"I wanted to finish my prep first." Harry didn't look at her since he was carefully measuring out the almond juice. Severus would hunt him down in the afterlife and do as much harm as he possibly could if Harry killed them both after his warning.

Tiffany walked away, but Harry heard comments, running about the room like wildfire when he used water from the sink instead of conjuring it. The journeymen were passing his spot more often, eying his cauldron critically.

Harry knew not to expect Master Cummings to come by as the heavy man barely gave him the time of day. He tried not to let it bother him since he knew that it was because he was not a live-in student, but he didn't like feeling like a second class apprentice.

As he stood there waiting on the silvering to finish, he almost started in surprise when he heard the Master's voice next to him.

"What are you waiting on?"

Harry glanced up at Master Cummings. The white blond man was staring at the silver forming over the potion. "For it to finish silvering."

"You should be stirring it right now."

Harry quickly checked the state of his potion, and ignored the order he could see in the pale green eyes. "Not yet."

His master scowled at him. "I've been watching you today. You've been brewing this potion very differently than you normally do."

Harry pulled the almond juice closer while he hid his surprise that Master Cummings had ever noticed anything about him. "You've never commented on my potion until today. You just let me work on it until it was a ruined mess or exploded. Can you do so again today?" Moving the stirring rod carefully he made the hole and poured the juice in.

"Mr. Pope, I could drop you as an apprentice."

Harry nodded as he watched the pink start to rise. "That you could, Master Cummings." He pulled the mimosa beans over. If Cummings dropped him, he would find something else to do. Or he would do a self study.

"Humph."

Master Cummings walked away when Harry dropped the beans into the cauldron. No one else came by until he had completed and bottled his potion.

Picking up Harry's vial, Master Cummings tipped it this way and that, taking in the shine of the silver. He then looked back at Harry. "Polyjuice would have worn off by now. How did you learn to brew this potion in this manner?"

Harry blinked at the mention of Polyjuice. "I gave up trying to learn it on my own and asked for help. I spent the majority of last night learning how to brew this correctly."

He watched as the Master's eyes flicked to the vial once again. "Whoever taught you is good."

Harry barely held in a snort at that understatement.

Cummings continued without noticing Harry's reaction. "You have successfully completed the potion." He then pocketed the potion and walked away.

Harry rushed home that evening to tell Severus the good news. He hadn't expected to be greeted at the door.

"Severus, I made it correctly, and Master Cummings approved it!"

Severus nodded. "Of course. You had it last night. Now, we have to perfect the other potions. After dinner tonight, we shall be retiring to my lab. Over dinner we shall be discussing your potion garden. There is no reason for you to be buying the ingredients for these potions if you can grow them."

Harry stared at Severus for a moment. "I'm going to be learning other potions? What other potions?"

Severus smirked as he headed towards the kitchen. "The ones in your book. I took the liberty of going through it and copying them last night. We shall work on one every evening until you know them all."

Harry chased after the disappearing Potions Master. "But some of those are journeymen level!"

Severus looked over his shoulder at Harry with a raised eyebrow. "You shall learn them. None of them are that hard."

That evening, over spaghetti bolognese and salad, they plotted out Harry's garden.

ハリーポッターthe presentセブルススネイプ

Harry once again surveyed the garden that had grown significantly in size since the evening of its birth.

He had come home two days after his first potion success, and had found the ground marked off. Severus had told him to prep the ground while he made dinner and after that, they had dug and treated the soil under the glow of floating Wizarding lights.

When Severus had brought out the plant cuttings, Harry was sure they had come from Professor Sprout since they were in pots that he recognized from Herbology class. He had gaped in awe. He learned more about planting potion ingredients than he ever had in Herbology and was thankful he had a basic knowledge in gardening, no thanks to the Dursleys.

The weeks that had followed had seen Harry in Severus' lab, struggling to make complicated potions to the exactitude that Severus expected. He had decided early on that there was a large difference between his definition of hard and Severus'.

That time had been a test of patience and limits. Boundaries had been drawn, crossed, and redrawn. 'Snowball' had been growled many times. But they both persevered and Harry had learned the potions to Master-grade perfection.

Smiling, Harry stooped to pluck a stalk of white flowering heather. Master Cummings had never gotten over him being able to do each new potion perfectly the first time. But the man had had no qualms with keeping his work. Severus had dismissed his grumbles over that, saying it was a Master's prerogative.

Breathing in the scent of the heather, Harry headed into the house. The wall opposite the entry hall reminded him of the day after he had finally completed the last potion to Severus' high expectation. He had thought that he would finally have an evening off. How wrong he had been.

After a quiet dinner, he had been sent to his own workroom. There, covering a table and filling the only bookshelf he had, were books, each of them discussing the intricacies of wand making. It was at that moment that it truly sank in that Severus was helping him become a wandcrafter.

"Not that I enjoyed the workload. Master Cummings was a lackadaisical master, at least to me. Severus on the other hand..." Harry's words trailed off and his smile returned as he stared at the polished walnut wand mounted on a wall bracket.

His first.

It was another victory for Severus and another sore point for Master Cummings.

ハリーポッターmemory lane セブルススネイプ

Harry slammed the book closed, his notes scattering in the breeze the book created. _'Severus is asking too much! Why do I need to write up this comparison? It's not as if Master Cummings even cares what Ivan Abalyshev has to say about core insertion. Or Aga Demirkan... or Esmeralda Lopez. He just wants us to do as he says.' _

Gathering his notes, he slapped them down on the table. Severus would ask him about it tonight over dinner. Since he didn't want to see the "are you a dunderhead" look again this week, he had to get one more resource to tell him how to insert the core into a wand. And last week, he had had to study how to make the core's chamber in the wand.

Honestly, it was almost like being back at Hogwarts again, only studying wands instead of potions! And this time he didn't have Hermione's help with the research and Ron's help at stress relief.

Grumbling, Harry pulled a book by Jenebi Ukwuma off the shelf. Master Cummings had just finished teaching them how to carve the shape of the wand. _'Severus had me study that two months ago. And I had to practice it, too.'_

Putting the book on the table, his fingers touched the burgundy cloth roll that held all the tools of a wandcrafter and he stilled, feeling his irritation wash away. It was six months ago that he had found this gift sitting on his workbench together with his first homework assignment, written in Severus' handwriting, and learned just how seriously Severus was taking his Mastery.

Lips thinning in resolve, Harry flipped open Ukwuma's book and started reading.

That evening, when he was able to explain the different methods of core insertions, was the second time he had ever seen Severus smile. The sight was a surprisingly satisfying reward, and made Harry forget his irritation with the extra work.

The next day, Master Cummings set them loose in the apprentice material room, and told them to pick out their wood and core of choice. They were then to attempt to make their first wand.

As the other apprentices flew about the room, Harry wondered if Severus had expected Cummings to take this path. He searched through his mind for all the information that he had been studying under his at-home taskmaster and began to survey the available material.

Picking out a length of walnut, he went in search of a core that would be forgiving and easy to work with. It didn't have to transfer magical energy. This was just a test to see how you put a wand together. Rooting through the shelves, he found a dried heather sprig tucked behind some very old, brittle heartstrings from some unnamed animal. He only recognized the heartstrings because he had watched Severus prepare some for a custom-made potion last week.

Harry took his supplies to a small table near a window in the back of the room. Using his own potions, he set about soaking the ingredients. The heather's flowers turned white under the influence of the Conditioning Potion while the walnut darkened. As he waited, he watched the other apprentices attempt the task.

Several were slicing their chosen wood in half and then trying to whittle out the center. Others were trying to auger out the center. None had started soaking their core, much less the wood.

Turning his gaze out the window, he ran the wood coring spells through his mind. He found the one that Aga Demirkan recommended the easiest to keep in focus. He was glad now that Severus had found a translated version of the Turkish Master's book. When the soaking time was up, he pointed his wand at the walnut branch and ran a simple diagnostic over the branch to find out its imperfections just as Master Ukwuma had said to do. That done, he pictured the channel that he wanted to create in the center of the twig. Using Demirkan's spell, he carved an unseen tunnel inside the walnut. Once that was done, he used Master Lopez's transfer spell to move the heather into the core of the wand.

Picking the new wand up out of the potion bath, Harry dried it. Settling back onto his stool, he pulled out his carving tools and started using the shape inside his head to create the wand that was hidden inside that battered branch.

Due to the location of his workspace, he was the last apprentice checked on. The blonde journeywoman held out her hand for his creation and raised an eyebrow when he handed over the wand.

"Nice carving. How did you insert the core?" Tiffany ran her fingers over the smooth wood while she waited for his answer.

When Harry explained the process, he saw amusement fill her eyes.

"Let me run a diagnostic over it to make sure that it is together properly." Tiffany held up her wand as she waited for his affirmation.

Harry nodded, holding back a smile as she performed a similar spell to the one he had cast earlier.

A slow smirk formed on her lips and she raised her eyebrows at Harry while she twirled the wand. "Master Cummings is not going to be happy. He already thinks you have another Master teaching you. Now, he is going to think that this proves it. Do you?"

Harry laughed then. Yes, he did, but the man was a Potions Master who had more than fifteen years of experience learning how to pound material into students' heads. He fought to calm down when he saw her eyebrows rise higher. "My friend is a Master, yes, but of Potions. He believes in ... studying. Even if it is ahead. He has been making me a study schedule since that fateful potion that I asked his help with. And he is _not_ someone you can say no to."

"Oh, surely he has apprentices of his own to worry about?"

Harry just smiled and shook his head.

Tiffany looked back down at the wand in her hand. It was really an upper level apprentice wand. Pope had a good grasp at control and understanding of the wood. She couldn't tell what core he had chosen, but it didn't matter. It was placed correctly, and the wood flowed into the shape that Pope had carved it. "We are going to have to bring this wand to Master Cummings' attention. Come on, Pope. Be ready to explain who your friend is to him."

Master Cummings growled and fussed about his studying unsupervised, but Harry knew that there was nothing the Master could do to make him stop. With his rank increased and his first wand in hand, he headed home.

He met up with Severus in the hallway. Taking out the walnut wand, Harry presented with a flourish handle first to the Potions Master. "Thank you. If you hadn't had me studying so much, I never would have been able to make this today. Master Cummings promoted me and would like to meet you."

Severus took the wand and traced over the patterns with his fingers. "I am busy right now. I'll meet him the day he gives you your Mastery." He looked back down at the wand. "Can it cast spells?"

Harry jerked his eyes away from watching Severus' fingers. "I don't know. I used a plant, heather, as the core."

Severus gave a one sided grin. "Then let's find out, shall we**?**"

He headed towards the door. "But outside just in case."

In the center of the front lawn, he cast a _Wingardium Leviosa _on a fallen branch on the ground.

Harry watched in amazement as it floated upward. "It worked! I've never seen a wand with a plant core before. I didn't think it would work."

Severus flicked the wand, canceling the spell. "It works as well as any other borrowed wand." He turned towards Harry and held it out to him.

Harry held up his hands and backed away. "It is yours. As a thank you."

Severus raised an eyebrow, but tucked the wand into his robe before heading back in. "Dinner is yours to make tonight. I have time sensitive potions that need to be watched."


	3. 3: Confessions and Jumping Through Hoops

___Many, many thanks go out to the other two who are the best...** Raya** and** Yengir**l, both whom have helped to beta this. _

_This is the end. I hope that you all have enjoyed this small trip through my imagination. I thank all of you who have taken a moment to tell me that you liked this since I was very, very insecure about it. *smiles* Onward to the end... Ree_

_Confessions and Jumping Through Hoops_

ハリーポッターthe presentセブルススネイプ

Harry headed for Severus' lab with a smile playing about his lips. The meeting between Master Cummings and Severus had been somewhat of an anticlimax. Severus had just glared at the man for presuming to hold Harry back after he had the skills to pass his Mastery and the man had crumbled. It had taken Harry two years instead of the standard three to gain his Mastery, but that was because Severus had worked him relentlessly.

Shaking his head, Harry knew he should have realized at that time just how much Severus had come to care for him. Instead, it had taken almost another year.

Knocking on Severus' lab door, he waited to be invited in. When no response came from the other side, Harry decided to start dinner. Either Severus wasn't in the lab, or he was working on something that he could not tear his attention away from. Harry wouldn't take the chance that it was the latter and ruin the potion. He spotted Severus at the table shelling beans as he entered the dining room.

"You're back." Severus didn't look at him as he dropped the beans into a bowl. The hulls dropped onto the table.

"Yeah. I have the diagnostic report, if you want to look at it." Harry stopped behind Severus and tucked an errant lock of white hair back behind his ear before dropping a kiss on the shell of the now exposed ear. _'Of course Severus would have white hair. Couldn't mess up the color scheme by making it silver or gray.'_

Moving around the table, he settled opposite of Severus and laid out the parchment. "You can look in my head, if you want."

Meeting the dark eyes, Harry realized that he wasn't the only one remembering long ago events. He could see in Severus' eyes a different conversation held at this table. Tucking those memories away, he pushed the reports across the table. "Death wasn't there."

Severus nodded and read over the parchment. Tapping a finger on the edge of the table, a frown marred his face and then he lifted his eyes to the rich green pair that were watching him. "I need to see that memory."

When Harry indicated that he was ready, he slid effortlessly into the other man's mind. It had taken a while, but he had finally taught the younger man the mind magics. He enjoyed the familiar welcome enveloping him as well as the slight tinge of arousal underlying the welcome. Smiling slightly, he waited for Harry to show him the memory.

He was suddenly standing in a dimly lit room. Looking over his shoulder, he spotted Harry near the door. He crossed the room and took a moment to read the potion bottles that lined the small table, waiting to look at the girl until Harry had moved over there and started casting.

He squelched the startled jump when he felt a warm hand slide over his arm.

"If you were here, she wouldn't have had to chance getting too cold." Harry twined his arm around Severus'.

"Harry..." He stopped when the fingers on his arm tightened in reassurance.

"It's fine. I understand why you didn't want to go." Harry nodded towards the bed. "Watch. I did my best to take in everything."

He smiled lightly as Severus pulled him closer to the bed. The mental manifestation of the man was not any different than the one that had first appeared in his mind the day he had perfected both Legilimency and Occulmency. It had taken him by complete surprise, but Severus had just smirked at his reaction. Even though Severus' manifestation never changed, his had aged. His mental manifestation of himself now looked to be about forty, the same age as Severus'. When he had question Severus about it, he was told that their manifestations were how they viewed themselves.

Shaking the thoughts out of his mind, Harry watched Severus, trying to remember when the last time the man actually had no white hairs.

Severus studied the young lady before moving about the room. He took a moment to listen to the old lady before turning back to the current Harry. "Is there anything else important that happened?"

Harry shook his head no, and let the memory fade.

Before Severus could leave, another memory appeared, stopping him.

Harry glanced at the memory that was floating enticingly near them. It was the one from the table. He had just finished meeting with Dean and Seamus about running his wand shop. He had purchased a store next to the Weasleys' joke shop, and needed someone to manage it. George had suggested he call his store "Not a Gag Wand" but Harry wanted something simple instead, so it was called Pope Wands. He had used George's idea as a window sign and added "Those are Next Door" to it. Even too this day, no-one but the Weasleys, Dean, Seamus, and Neville knew that Harry Potter was Harry Pope. He did his best not to be seen in customer area of the store. But that was not what this conversation had been about.

He looked over at Severus. "Do you want to see it? It seems to be a day for remembrances."

Severus glanced at his partner before gesturing towards the memory. Following Harry in, he remembered feeling very anxious about the conversation that day. He had felt the need to convince Harry to find someone. He was sure that that would end his attraction to the younger man. He watched as the conversation unfolded, the current Harry's hand tucked in his.

"_Now that you have secured your future financially, I assume you are planning to find a wife to enjoy it with?" Dark eyes watched the rapidly changing expressions on Harry's face. "Go ahead. I'm certain that we can easily add a few rooms to the house. We can build up."_

Harry tightened his grip on Severus' hand. This had been one of the hardest things he had ever done.

_Harry played a bit with the edge of parchment that held his notes from his meeting, imagining Severus' disgust once he told him the truth. It would make their lives uncomfortable, at the very least._

_Taking a deep breath, Harry garnered all the courage he could find before he spoke. "There won't be a wife." _

_He jumped up and went to stare sightlessly out the window. "I hope this doesn't make you nervous or upset... but I prefer men to women."_

Severus watched himself as Harry said those words. He didn't see it, but he could still feel the attraction he had been fighting take a firm root and begin to flourish. He had been doing his best to kill it by telling himself that there was no way that Harry could ever return it, but the moment Harry gave this tantalizing hint that there was a chance, his mind had shown him every lingering glance Harry had cast upon him in the past three years.

_Severus stood up and crossed the room. He stopped behind Harry, fighting the urge to put a comforting hand on the younger man's shoulder. Touching Harry was off limits. It would feed the attraction, which he couldn't allow to happen. They were living together amicably now, and he wasn't willing to jeopardize that. He listened as Harry continued. _

"_So, any wife or kids here will be your own." _

_Severus shook his head even though Harry couldn't see it. "Then, there shall never be any here." He smirked as he continued. "And I have no reason to feel nervous or upset. It would be hypocritical to do so as our preferences mirror each other's."_

_Harry spun about, his eyes wide as he took in the implications. _

"_You could find a partner to share your life with. It doesn't have to be a wife." Severus watched as the green eyes dimmed. _

"_Harry Potter can't. Just ask the Wizarding world."_

_Severus felt his hand moving too late to stop it and not have it be noticed. Instead, he changed the motion from pulling Harry to him to pushing aside the lock of hair hiding his scar. "Harry Potter might not be able to," he tapped the scar lightly before allowing the hair to fall back to its accustomed place, "but Harry Pope can. We know that there are people out there who only see the scar and messy hair. All you have to do is what you've done these past several years, hide the scar. You're hair had grown out just enough that it looks different to the unobservant."_

_He watched as the green eyes brightened. Fighting his desire to kiss Harry, Severus turned and walked out the door. _

Severus watched his younger self flee, glad that it didn't look that way. He had ended up in his lab, telling himself that there was no way Harry would really be attracted to him. He just wished that he had the courage to hold the younger man for just a moment. He could have always claimed it as just a comforting hug, which would have been at least partially true.

Turning his attention back to Harry now, he was curious as to what had happened after he had walked out. He was surprised to see that he wasn't the only one watching him go and at the longing that was on Harry's face. He felt the older Harry tighten his fingers around his hand.

"Yes, I was attracted to you even then. I hadn't planned on acting on it though. I didn't think my advances would be welcomed." Harry shook his head slightly. "What did you go do?"

Severus stared a bit longer at the memory Harry. "I went to my lab and wore the same expression on my face there. I also had not planned on acting on my attraction to you."

At Harry's snort, he turned towards him. Memories of past desire were rushing through him, adding fuel to his current desire. Nodding to himself, he slipped out of Harry's mind.

He was around the table before Harry had reoriented himself. Threading his fingers through the silvering black mop, he pressed a kiss onto Harry's lips. Just as Harry started to respond, he pulled back and tugged him over towards the window.

Severus then wrapped Harry in his arms, holding him like he had wanted to that long ago day, and continued the kiss. He felt Harry's hand thread through his hair and brush against the nape of his neck. Groaning lightly, Severus deepened the kiss, letting his own hands travel over the familiar body pressed against his. Harry's hands followed suit, trailing little paths of fire over him.

When the kiss ended, Severus peered into the happy face that was beaming up at him. "That is how that conversation should have ended."

Harry chuckled lightly as he pecked a kiss on Severus' cheek. "I don't know if I could have handled it, but it certainly would have changed things."

Hugging Harry close for a moment longer, Severus released him. "I'm going to be in the lab. The beans are shelled, the ham is in the oven, and the potatoes are in the sink."

Harry brushed his fingers across Severus' cheek. "I'll let you know when dinner is ready."

(Ô.Õ)

After dinner was finished and the dishes done, Harry helped out in the lab. He looked over at Severus cutting up roots while three different cauldrons were boiling away at the edge of the table. _'If he had kissed me then, would we ever have gone to that club? If he wasn't pushing me to meet other people, there wouldn't have been a need to.' _

Severus caught the look that on Harry's face. "Yes, we would have eventually gone. Just as a couple instead of the way we went."

Harry smiled. "The way we should have gone."

Severus raised an eyebrow and pointed at the mortar and pestle with his knife.

Pulling them towards him, Harry's smile broadened. He could tell that they were both remembering that day.

ハリーポッターmemory lane セブルススネイプ

They stood on the front steps of Grimmauld Place, both feeling uncertain about entering the house. Severus finally opened the door and walked into the dusty room. "I'll use the same room as last time."

"I'll do the same," Harry replied as he stepped inside and watched Severus heading up the staircase. It had taken him five months from their mutual coming outs for him to accepted the fact that Severus was the only person he wanted. He had honestly tried to look for someone else.

When he had been at Diagon Alley for weeks on end putting together the shop, George and Ron had both set up blind dates for him. It had taken a long talk with her family, but Ginny had eventually accepted that there could be nothing between them. After that she convinced Hermione that they had to help find someone for him as well. Not one of the men sparked the level of interest that Severus did. They were good looking, funny and smart, but they just didn't make him want to talk to them about important things, to touch them, to tease a response out of them. He had doubted George when he insisted that people wouldn't recognize him right away if he wore metal framed glasses, and put just enough gel in his hair that it was partially tamed. The fact that his scar had faded was another bonus according to Ron.

It did work for a little while. Typically about ten minutes into the meeting, his date would figure out who he was, and it would become a fawning session. The only difference would be whether they tried to disguise the fawning or not.

After that, Harry had spent weeks holed up in his workroom making the stock for his store. He had a unique line of wands that used plants as their core. Severus casting a spell using his first walnut wand had made him curious to know if quality material would make a difference. Both the walnut and the heather had been so old that they barely were worth using. So, he had made Severus another one out of walnut and white heather. He knew that Severus was carrying that wand as his secondary one. He also had secondary one made of holly with an apple core. They were in London, and as Severus had pointed out, you can never be too careful. It may have been years since the Death Easters ran about, but there were others out there.

It was nearing the end of those weeks that he decided to act on his attraction to Severus. That was what brought them here. Narrowing his eyes slightly, Harry planned how to use the day he had gained with Severus to his advantage.

ハリーポッター

Severus shut the door behind him and leaned up against it. Three days ago he had been working in his potions garden when Harry had come outside.

Severus had had quickly run through his mind everything he knew they needed to get from the market in London and was prepared to list it off. Instead of the request he had expected, Harry had hesitated near him, before finally meeting his eyes. He remembered the pink blush that had covered Harry's face and brightened his eyes. He remembered reaching out to see if the young man had a fever, but stopped when Harry stepped back.

Dragging his gaze away from where Harry was worrying his lower lip with his teeth, he had raised an eyebrow in silent query.

"I like you."

Severus had felt his eyes widening at that confession, his heart picking up pace. Then he narrowed the former and did his best to get the latter to slow down. "You need to meet other people. You think you like me because we are already living together."

Harry had shaken his head. "No, I am attracted to you. I want to give this a try."

Shaking his head at that memory, Severus dropped his traveling case on the bed. Harry had convinced him to come to London to check out the wand shop, and to see how his potions lines were really doing in the stores. They were also going to visit a Muggle nightclub at Severus' insistence so that Harry had a chance to be Pope not Potter.

Harry agreed, but he pointed out that they needed to go clothes shopping and then dinner. Severus hoped that he had convinced Harry that it wasn't a date.

Running a hand over his face, he sighed and stared at himself in the mirror. _'I was a bleeding spy; I can handle getting through this afternoon and evening. Harry will find someone else and never has to know just how much I wish it could be me. There is too much of a chance that we wouldn't work out. That would lead to too much tension in the house. I refuse to die because I didn't know how to control myself.'_

Stepping out the door, Severus went to face the rest of the day.

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Harry took in the selection of clothes that Severus had picked out for himself: dark gray and black trousers and white button-down shirts. He, himself, had a collection of jeans and different colored trousers ranging from black to khaki. His shirts were about as colorful as a rainbow. Nothing too flashy, but at least not monochromatic. He surreptitiously glanced at Severus' shirt size and then added a dark blue and green to his collection.

Harry braced himself for the scathing comments when he gave Severus the other two shirts as soon as they returned to Grimmauld Place. All the man did was raise an eyebrow and take them upstairs.

Harry didn't expect to see them again and sure enough, Severus wore dark gray trousers and a white shirt for the evening's outing. At least Harry had changed up his own appearance, wearing khaki trousers and a black button-down shirt with the sleeves cuffed.

Dinner was so ordinary that it might as well have taken place in their dining room. After they had finished, Severus took them to a Muggle club.

Folding his arms, he glared down at Harry. "Go in and mingle with a younger group, Harry. Have fun."

Harry narrowed his eyes. "You have to mingle as well. No hiding in the corners."

Severus raised a dark eyebrow. "I won't hide in the corners."

Harry studied him a bit longer before spinning on his heel and stalking through the door.

Severus waited for a few minutes before he entered so that it wouldn't appear as if they were together.

Harry had started mingling with the younger patrons, but out of the corner of his eye, he watched Severus settle at a table in the exact center of the sitting area and order a drink. _'Fine, I'll mingle, talk, dance, and prove to him that it isn't just because I have no other options.'_

He flashed a smile at a blue-eyed, black haired boy that reminded him a little bit of Sirius. It took him around ten minutes to realize that the boy was actually a year older than himself. Harry forced himself to not to show annoyance at how immature the group was acting.

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Severus rolled the bottom of his glass on the table top, the scotch reflecting the light as it swirled. They had been there for almost an hour. Not one patron had approached him. If Harry brought it up, he would deny that his glares had anything with that. With no distractions, he watched as the Sirius want-to-be and his entourage entertained Harry. They talked, laughed, and in general acted like a group of seventh years after their NEWTS were done. Harry had also danced with each one.

He could tell Mutt Jr. was very interested in Harry. Glaring at the boy, he hoped Harry wouldn't pick him. He knew it was petty to not like someone due to the resemblance, but he would have a hard time giving up his attraction to Harry if it was for that boy.

Dragging his attention away from Harry, he surveyed the rest of the club. The dance floor was crowded, and the volume of the music was almost painful though Severus could get used to the songs themselves. The older crowd was over near the bar. There were obviously two different celebrities in that group. One was a dominating personality whom he was fairly certain practiced BDSM, and the other was an easy going man who smiled as much as Harry.

Severus' gaze drifted back to the younger crowd and came to the conclusion that Harry had found the reigning celebrity of the younger crew. He watched with distaste as Mutt Jr. pulled Harry out onto the dance floor again. Taking a sip of his scotch, he settled back in his seat and observed them.

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Harry could feel the black eyes boring into his back as he danced with Jamie. He knew Severus had been watching him all night, and it was adding to his aggravation; if Severus liked him _that_ much, he could at least spend a few moments with him. Harry would appreciate the higher level of conversation, if nothing else. As the song wound to an end, he headed towards the Potions Master.

"Harry! Where are you going?" Jamie reached out to pull Harry back towards his group.

Harry easily evaded the grasp. "I want to see what the man over there wants."

Jamie searched the direction that Harry had waved in and frowned when he saw several older men over there. He wanted Harry to go home with him that evening and was not going to chance losing him. "I'll come with you."

Harry shrugged. He couldn't keep Jamie away, and he kind of wanted to see what Severus' reaction to the Sirius-look-alike would be. As he approached Severus, he took in the empty tables around the Potions Master. The rest of the club was crammed to the gills, pulsing with energy and passion, but somehow, Severus had created an island, an oasis of calm all around him. It took one look into those dark eyes to know how he had done it – it was Professor Snape sitting at that table. It gave Harry a moment's pause before he shrugged it off. He had faced an angrier looking Snape before.

Jamie stared at the table Harry was heading for and its sole, glowering occupant. That man would take Harry apart. "Oh, come on, Harry, you don't want to talk to him."

Harry fought the smirk that wanted to erupt at the trepidation in Jamie's voice. A Snape Scowl could still make grown men quake. And it was a light one at that. "Yes, I do. He's been watching me all evening."

Harry breached the ring of silence with Jamie right on his heels. Resting both hands on the table, Harry leaned forward, so that he would be sure that Severus heard him. "If you like what you see, why don't you come dance with me?"

A shocked gasp sounded near his shoulder, and Harry felt Jamie tugging at his arm. He ignored it as Severus glared at him.

Jamie blanched. What was Harry thinking? Anyone in that club could tell that this man was not one to approach lightly. It was obvious by the absence of people near him. The most submissive of the club's patrons were wary of him even though he reeked of control and dominance.

"A bit confident in yourself, aren't you?" Severus refused to let Harry know just how much he wanted to do just that.

Harry leaned a little closer. "Or are you too cowardly to get on the dance floor?"

He watched as the black eyes narrowed. He could see Severus' fury at being called a coward.

Fire blew through Severus and he wasn't certain if it was because he wanted to kiss Harry or kill him. As neither was a good idea, he squelched his temper. He wasn't sure if Harry really wanted to dance with him or if he was just attempting to goad him.

Narrowing his eyes for just a moment, he then raised an eyebrow to question Harry's maturity. They had long passed the point of name calling.

Harry refused to lean back, but did drop his eyes briefly as an apology. Looking back up, he gave Severus a look that dared him to dance with him.

The dare showed that Harry did want to dance with him. Accepting the dare, Severus let his gaze rest on the hand that was still feebly tugging at Harry's arm. "If you can lose Mutt Jr., I shall dance with you."

Harry almost laughed out loud at the moniker. Relief flooded him, his apology was accepted and Severus was going to dance with him. He glanced over to the scared looking man beside him. "Jamie, it will be fine. He can't tear me apart on the dance floor."

Reluctantly, Jamie let Harry go. He did not like this, but in the end he couldn't stop it. "I think he is dangerous. Be careful, Harry."

Harry watched as Severus quickly masked the mirth that sprang up in his eyes. The scowl never changed.

"I think I will be completely safe with him, don't worry." Taking Severus' hand, he tugged him towards the dance floor aiming for the least crowded corner.

"Now that you have me out here, what did you want to talk to me about, Harry?" Severus danced gracefully even with the techno beat vibrating through the floor. He made sure that there was a space between them.

"I've just spent the most annoyingly dull hour. I wanted to have some fun so I went to find you." Harry moved closer to Severus, brushing his fingers against the white clad arm.

Severus raised an eyebrow, but didn't move his arm. "Fun? Me? Those two do not go together, Harry." He fought the bubble of warmth that rose in his chest at Harry's laughter. "And you appeared to be having fun."

"They're kids, Severus. I was bored with the conversation ten minutes in." Harry brushed his hair out of his eyes.

Severus glared at the group watching him carefully. He was amused at the open concern on their faces. "They are your age."

Harry followed his gaze. "And I am not like people my age. Seen and done too much."

"Let them show you how to have fun, Harry." Severus looked Harry over, taking in the ease in his movements, before resting on his face. "You deserve it after all you have done."

Harry caught and held Severus' gaze. "I tried. They were lacking wit and sarcasm. I'd rather spend my time with you." He moved closer, until there was less than a hand's breadth between them.

"Harry..." _'Tell him to move away. Do not savor this. Do not wish for one more step forward.'_

"Severus."

Harry waited until the dark eyes were completely focused on him. Neither heard the driving beat of the song, and they didn't notice that they were both standing still.

"You understand me. You know what I have walked to and what I been through. I like your sarcasm... your ability to cut someone down with a look... the way you raise an eyebrow to speak an entire sentence."

Severus grabbed hold of his sanity and offered the other feasible solution. "If the younger crowd is too young for you, try the older crowd." He scanned the green eyes that were giving him a resigned look.

"For you. I will go talk to them, maybe dance with them, and sit with them because you asked me to. Then, we will talk." Harry turned as the song ended. "See you later, Severus."

Severus watched Harry head over to the bar area as he went back to his table. His heart was still beating fast in reaction to Harry's closeness. _'He is doing this for me?' _ Pushing the thought away, Severus decided that he wasn't going to even think about what had been said. If he did, he might start believing it. He was relieved that the area around his chosen table was still empty.

Harry nodded to the blond at the edge of the bar. "Hi, my name is Harry."

The blond raised his pint in a salute as looked between him and Severus. "Name is Nathan. No one has been able to get near Black. What is your secret?"

Harry whipped about, scanning the room before closing his eyes while a smile tugged at his lips. Severus would hate that name. Pulling himself back under control, he turned back to Nathan. "Secret? Nothing. I just didn't let him intimidate me."

Nathan nodded slightly. "Black has been watching you all evening so it makes sense that he let you near him. Care to introduce me?"

Harry knew he looked surprised. "You want me to introduce you to... Black?"

Nathan grinned. "Yes. Then you can go see Arnold. He wants to meet you."

"Arnold?" Harry scanned the crowd near the bar.

"The tall man with the brown hair. Over there at the other end."

"Okay." Harry turned around and walked back to Severus' table, Nathan following him. It was about time the Potions Master had some company.

"Nathan, this is … Black. Black, this is Nathan." He smiled at Severus' glare. He could tell it was for the name more than the other man's presence. "It is the name they've given you. If you want them to know your real one, you are going to have to tell them."

He watched as Severus' glare became more pronounced. Grinning, he waved bye and turned back towards the bar, wishing for his invisibility cloak so that he could slip back and witness this conversation. "Have fun, Nathan."

Severus leveled a glare at Harry before looking at the easy going celebrity that he noted earlier. "You wish to join me?"

Holding his mug, Nathan slid into one of the empty seats. "I haven't seen you around here before."

Severus noticed Mutt Jr. trying to catch Harry's arm. Harry neatly evaded the grasping fingers, and started talking rapidly to the brat. "It has been a very long time."

Nathan nodded as he settled back into his seat, sipping his drink. His eyes roamed the crowd.

Finally rid of Jamie, Harry stopped behind the crowd that surrounded Arnold. Looking the man over, he recognized that the brunette had a dangerous edge to him, but Harry had faced scarier and far more dangerous wizards and other creatures, so he didn't let that deter him. He was deciding if he wanted to deal with the crowd or just go find someone else when the others shifted and Arnold was suddenly standing near him.

"Welcome. Sit." Arnold gestured towards a chair while he looked down at the young submissive who had caught his interest earlier.

Harry considered telling the man that he didn't take orders, but decided not to push it at that moment. He had told Severus he would sit, talk, and maybe dance. Having a seat, he looked at Arnold. "I hear that you wanted to see me?"

Arnold walked around him, peering at him from all sides. "You are perfect. I want you for mine."

Harry raised an eyebrow at that. "As yours?"

Arnold nodded. This normally worked quite well with the young ones. They were looking for someone to tell them what to do, to guide them.

Harry held in a laugh. He refused to be anyone's. His life had been controlled for way too long.

Nathan's attention was caught when Harry sat down. Glancing over at his table companion, he was not surprised that Black was watching the events unfold. The man had been closely watching the boy all night. "Arnold was looking for a new submissive tonight. He was worried when his choice went to you."

Severus shot a quick look at Nathan before turning his attention back to Arnold and Harry. "Why was he worried?"

Nathan let a snort. "It is obvious that you are a dominant. And Harry reeks of submissiveness. Arnold has been a bit antsy since you came through the door."

Severus felt the side of his mouth quirk up. Harry as a submissive was a notion that anyone who knew him would laugh at. Hardheaded and stubborn were better descriptors.

"You've had your eye on Harry since you came in here."

Severus just nodded, only giving Nathan a part of his attention. The rest of his focus was on the brunette talking to Harry. The man's body language spoke volumes. He was trying to get Harry to agree to whatever idea he had presented.

Studying the way Harry was holding his shoulders, he smirked. "Arnold needs to learn to read body language better."

Nathan shifted his attention back to Harry and Arnold. He didn't see anything to indicate that Arnold didn't have Harry enraptured with him. "Are you sure? Arnold is really good."

"He is missing the clues. As a dominant, he should know what to look for." Severus watched as Harry's shoulders stiffened just a bit. "Harry is about to tell him off, or just storm away."

"A submissive about to tell off a dominant? Not likely, you should know that."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "But Harry isn't a submissive."

Nathan looked from Black to Harry. "His head is tilted down; he isn't looking Arnold in the eye. All signs of submissiveness."

Severus nodded. "Unless you are dealing with a younger person who does not want to seem disrespectful. Look at his shoulders. Harry's head is bowed, but not his shoulders."

Nathan took in the stiffening shoulders before looking back at Black. "So, if he is not a submissive, why are you interested, Black?"

Severus scowled at the name. "Pope, not Black. I am not a dominant; therefore, I do not require a submissive." He ignored the snort of laughter that came from Nathan.

"Right, Pope. Then how do you know how to read body language so well?"

"Working in a boarding school for more than ten years will teach it to you." Severus watched as Harry's back and shoulders clench and release. "Arnold just lost."

Nathan jerked his gaze back over to Harry, mouth falling open as the boy shot to his feet.

Severus smirked. Whatever Arnold tried to convince Harry of must have hit a sore point. Harry turned and stormed back towards him with Arnold following behind.

Catching Harry's eyes, Severus narrowed his before looking over at the other people around. Green eyes pinned him to his chair, and Severus could almost swear he heard the word 'snowball'. Harry then spun on his heel, cast a scathing look over Arnold, and strode off to find another group to mingle with.

Out of the corner of his eye, Severus caught Mutt Jr. trailing after Harry. "Someone needs to take Mutt Jr. in hand. I have no doubts that Harry could handle him, but I doubt that at this moment Mutt Jr. would enjoy it."

Nathan looked about trying to determine who 'Mutt Jr.' was. "You seem to know Harry pretty well..." His eyes widened. "You know him, don't you? You are here to watch after him."

Severus cut a look over at his table companion. "Yes."

"You do know that the boy is interested in you, right?" Nathan watched as Arnold stalked away from where Harry was ignoring him.

Severus glanced about the club before returning his attention to Nathan. "What boy?"

"Harry." As a black eyebrow arched higher, he realized that calling Harry a boy was the issue. "Okay, Harry isn't a boy. But it doesn't change the fact that he would rather be with you." He raised his mug to take another drink.

Whatever Severus' reply would have been was cut off by the arrival of Arnold. He leveled a formidable glare at the man as he sat down uninvited.

Undeterred, Arnold rested his elbows on the table and matched Black's glare with an intimidating look of his own. "What do you have over the boy?"

Severus raised an eyebrow and settled back into his seat. Arnold's look was nothing compared to Malfoy's much less Voldemort's. "Boy?"

He ignored Nathan's snort of amusement. The blond quirked a smile as he swallowed a mouthful of beer.

Waving his hand in Harry's direction, Arnold frowned. "Harry. He was doing perfectly fine until someone mentioned that you were too thin and sallow to be up for consideration." He let his eyes rake over the thin man. "I, of course, agreed. Harry then stormed off."

"I have no control over Harry." Severus could tell that Arnold was dismissing his response. "It was the way you were talking. He took it as an attack on me."

"A submissive will not do that. They will follow their dominants' lead. I think he has chosen you as his dominant, and I want to know why." His expression showed that he thought Severus left a lot to be desired.

"You misread the entire situation. I will caution you to take more care reading the people you try to control." Severus smirked as he took in the other man's expression. "You took caution and curiosity as submission. A rookie mistake."

Severus looked over at Harry just in time to catch his eye. He could tell that Harry was finished here. He gave the barest of nods, knowing that the young man would catch it. "You have also mistaken someone who is acerbic as a dominant. Another rookie mistake. You should attempt to limit that."

"I am not a rookie, and I know that I am right." Arnold leaned forward, putting himself closer to Severus.

Severus caught sight of Harry walking out the door. Completely ignoring Arnold, he turned towards Nathan and nodded.

"Have a good night," he said and left without a glance at Arnold.

Severus Apparated back to Grimmauld Place and went in search of Harry finding him in one of the smaller parlours. Harry started in as soon as he crossed the threshold.

"The man was an idiot. A complete idiot. They all were idiots. For some reason, that Arnold person thought he had the right to control me. Not happening, Severus," he fumed.

Walking forward, Harry stopped in front of Severus, handing him a cup of tea before he continued. "Mutt Jr. and his crew were annoying and childish, and the other adults were just as annoying."

He took a sip of his tea, attempting to calm down. "I gave it my best shot. It didn't work. It didn't work when Ron, George, Ginny and Hermione tried either. I want _you_, Severus."

Severus closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to see the longing mixed with the anger in the face that peered up at him. He already understood it quite well from his own personal experience. "Harry, if we try this, and it goes bad, we still have to live together."

The tea cup was taken from his grasp, and Harry rested his hand in its place. Opening his eyes, Severus instinctively closed his hand over Harry's.

Leaning forward, Harry brushed his fingers along Severus' jawline. "I want to know what we can get out of this. If it fails, then we are no worse off than when we began this bargain. We didn't like each other then, and we made it work. If we have to, we can do it again." Green eyes met black. "Please, Severus."

The pleading note in Harry's voice was his downfall. Severus caved. Harry had done everything he requested. "Very well, Harry. But if this ends, then we will just avoid the other as much as possible."

At Harry's nod, Severus pulled him into a tight hug and their very first kiss.

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Harry glanced at the potion case set on the table. "Are you coming with me?"

Severus cleared the breakfast dishes off the table. "I will. This time."

"Let's go then." Harry watched as Severus slipped a coat on before picking up his potions case. Flashing a smile, he headed out the door.

It was a quiet walk to the village, Severus surveying the area as Harry walked beside him. Occasionally, one would brush their arm against the other.

Harry knocked on the door, and nodded to the elderly lady he had met the last time.

"Master Pope." Faded blue eyes flicked from Harry to Severus and back again. "Were you able to find something out to help her?"

Harry gestured to Severus. "I wasn't, but he was. May we come in?"

She stepped back from the door and motioned them in.

Severus swept into the house behind Harry, and followed the younger man to the sickroom. He barely prevented himself from wrinkling his nose and scowled instead. "Harry, open the windows."

Crossing the room, he pulled out his wand and cast his own diagnostic spell over the girl. He read over the scrolling information and nodded. He might not be a healer, but after all the years of substituting for Poppy and the Dark Lord insisting that he was qualified to heal his fellow Death Eaters, he knew enough for this.

"What are you doing? Do not open that window!"

He shifted his scowl over to the elderly lady. "He is doing as I instructed, Madam..."

"Mrs. Garret." She glared over at Harry. "It is too cold out there for her."

"Madam, the smell in this room will do her more harm than the slight nip in the air coming in. She also needs a bath." He watched in satisfaction as her eyes widened in disbelief.

Severus transfigured a tub and a screen out of empty potions bottles and placed them in the middle of the dingy room. He heard Harry filling the tub with water as he flicked his wand, removing the covers off the patient. The smell that escaped made him wonder when the last bath had occurred.

He ran a critical eye over the young lady, before levitating her to the tub. "Mrs. Garret, if you will assist with her bath."

"She should be tucked in bed. I will not..."

"Fine." Severus cut her off. "Harry, will you see to the changing of the bedding? I will wash the young lady myself."

Even as he stepped towards the screen, Mrs. Garret stomped over to the other side.

"You will not. I'll do it. Clean sheets are in the closet across the hall."

One side of Severus' mouth quirked up as Harry went for the covers. While Harry changed the sheets, he set out the potions.

"Donald! Get in here and find Annetra a clean gown."

Severus raised an eyebrow as Mrs. Garret's voice resounded throughout the house. He met Harry's amused eyes when Ferguson rushed through the door, looked about, blanched when he spotted Severus, and then found the required night clothes.

Casting a quick_ Scourgify _over the area around the bed and potions table, Severus waited for a sign that Mrs. Garret was finished.

"You can take her back to her bed now."

Levitating her carefully, Severus settled Annetra back onto the clean, fresh smelling bed. _'Harry did a good job with those freshening spells.' _ Propping her on the pillows, he narrowed his eyes at her. "Miss Annetra, wake up."

"Humph. As if that would work. If it would have, then she would have woken up at St. Mungo's." Mrs. Garret folded her arms and glared at them. Her face fell when Annetra's eyes fluttered.

Harry suppressed a chuckle at Mrs. Garret's expression. He knew that it was the bath and fresh air, not Severus' command, that caused the girl to wake up, but it was obvious that the old lady didn't. At least he thought that was the cause.

"Harry."

Severus' voice cut through his amusement. Turning slightly, he raised a questioning eyebrow. When the dark eyes glanced at Annetra and back to him, he knew that Severus wanted help.

Severus gazed into the overly bright sky blue eyes. "Good morning, Miss Annetra. You have some potions to take. The purple vial, Harry, and then help hold her up."

Harry handed him the Nutrient Potion before supporting the girl.

"Drink half of this one." Severus pressed the vial to her lips, and watched as she drained half of it. Stoppering it, he set it back on the table and picked up the green and brown vial.

"Now, you have to drink this entire potion." He pressed the poison neutralizer to her lips and made sure that she drank every last drop, even though she tried to stop halfway.

"Good, now three drops of this one." The brown potion came out in large drops. "Now that you have finished that, Mrs. Garret will take you to the restroom."

Mrs. Garret shot a look over at Harry. "You, Master Pope, will levitate her there for me."

Pulling his wand, Harry did as requested.

Once the girl was back in bed comfortably, she drifted back off to sleep.

Severus gestured to the bottles. "Those are her potions. She shall take half a purple vial at night, and the other half in the morning. The green vial shall be given at this time for the next four days. The brown shall be given with the purple. Remember it is only three drops from the brown vial. She shall be bathed daily. Be prepared for vomiting and diarrhea."

Ferguson looked from Severus to Harry. "What is the matter with her? Will she get better?"

Severus scowled at him. "Of course she is going to get better. She just came in contact with something she shouldn't have."

"Then why didn't St. Mungo's catch it if it something that simple?" Mrs. Garret's gaze settled on Annetra.

"Simply because it is hard to detect unless you know to look for it. The symptoms mimic too many other types of illnesses, especially in the early stages. But knowing the plants around here, having all these symptoms can make it only one thing. I doubt that the St. Mungo Healer, no matter how proficient, knows all the plants that grow in this area."

"And you do?"

"I have studied them for quite some time, Mrs. Garret." Severus' tone could have frozen water in less than a second.

Mrs. Garret nodded. "What do we owe you?"

Severus tapped a finger to his thigh. "That is up to Harry."

Harry fingered the quilt he had put on the bed earlier. "Are you a quilter?" When she nodded, he continued. "Then I would like a King size quilt in this pattern," he held up the edge of a 'trip around the world' patterned quilt, "done in Hogwarts' colors."

"Hogwarts?" Mrs. Garret frowned. "That Wizarding school in Scotland?"

"Yes. Red, green, blue and yellow," Harry replied.

"It will take a while, but I can have it for you next month."

"Next month then. Now, we shall leave you." He watched as Severus swept through the door before he nodded and followed him.

Walking back towards the house, Harry directed them off the road and into the woods. Once the trees blocked them from sight, Harry slipped his hand into Severus'.

"Why a quilt in Hogwarts' colors?" Severus threaded his fingers through Harry's.

Harry smiled and stepped closer to Severus until their shoulders brushed. "I thought it would be a nice Christmas present for Minerva. Since she retired as Headmistress, she has missed the colors. Haven't you noticed that she has been adding the all four of them to her decor?"

Severus smiled as he nodded. He was glad that he was not similarly inflicted. It might be because he was Headmaster for only one year. Minerva took it back over after Harry had graduated. "What about Molly? Arthur might enjoy it since he was complaining about how the cold was seeping through the walls."

Even though the family was much better off, Molly and Arthur refused to move out of the Burrow. So everyone, even Harry and Severus, made a point to swing by on occasion so that they were not rattling about in that big house on their own. Severus and Harry were fortunate not to be on any schedule but their own, since neither ran a shop.

Harry bit his lip and thought about the jam he had almost gotten himself into. "If Mrs. Garret does a good job on Minerva's, then I'll commission a quilt for Mum Weasley."

"What are the plans for the rest of the day?" Severus scanned the ground looking for ingredients.

"We are expected for Violet and Marcus' birthday party. Mum Weasley wanted us to come over a little before lunchtime." Harry tugged Severus away from the wood sorrel.

"Do we have a present for them?" Severus gave into Harry's tug and noted where to come back to tomorrow.

"They are sitting in my workroom."

"They should pick out their own wands, Harry." Severus frowned at the surprised look that crossed Harry's face.

"Of course they will. Rose is bringing the twins to the shop at the end of the week. Grandma Hermione and Grandpa Ron are coming along to watch the event. No, I figured that since Violet and Marcus were going to Hogwarts this coming school year, they should have a way to communicate with each other. You and I both know that those two are inseparable."

"The Sorting Hat will end that." Severus' frown lightened. The twin's personalities were night and day from each other. "What did you find?"

"Mirrors. Small, compact sized ones. I cast an unbreakable charm on them just in case." Harry knew that Marcus would be the one to accidentally slam the mirror into something.

Nodding, Severus stopped just outside of the woods, taking in the view of their home. He was silent for a long moment and then he turned to Harry and smiled. "Thank you."

Harry blinked. "For what? I normally get Violet and Marcus their birthday presents."

Severus shook his head. "For giving me this home, for coming back for me, for... for us."

Harry felt a slow, gentle smile curve his lips. The years had flown by so fast… "You helped. You bargained better than I did. You helped me see that I could change my dreams and live with it. You pushed me to do better at my choice, even though it wasn't something you knew much about. You were the one that accepted me. He searched the warm eyes looking at him. "You are welcome, and thank you, too."

Severus pulled Harry to him and brushed a gentle kiss across his lips. "It was my pleasure." He looked over at their home and back down to Harry. "There is one long-lived snowball residing in Hell."

Both of them took a moment to think of the deal they had made with Death. And even though neither wanted to see him, it had become a tradition to leave the snowball's hooded guardian Christmas presents over the years. After leaving Death _'Knitting for Beginners – how to pass too much free time creatively!'_ their second Christmas together, they had stuck with scythe-related things. They had come up with some creative ideas and no matter how much those sockets had glowed with anger, Death turned up on time each year for his gift. Since the third year, he always gave them something knitted.

"That's because there are two stubborn wizards who have enough will power to keep it from melting. Death should have paid a bit more attention to who he was bargaining with." Laughing, Harry returned the kiss.

Laughter was still in his eyes when he pulled away. "We need to hurry, or Mum Weasley will be mad at us both."

As they walked into the house, there, draped on the back of the sofa was two knit jumpers. They were dark gray with a snowball on the front.

Severus stared at them while Harry searched the room. There was only two beings that would leave them matching jumpers, and only one would leave them on the sofa without a note.

Harry picked up one, and examined the stitch. "It is Death's knitting." He held out the slightly larger one to Severus. "I guess we aren't the only ones dwelling on past events today."

Severus held it up and smiled. Death had made the snowball look like it was just about to melt. "He is giving hints." He pointed to the shiny section of the snowball.

"He knows he just has to wait. We aren't getting there any time soon." Harry pulled off the jumper he was wearing and put on Death's present before turning to face Severus.

"Still visible." Severus looked at the jumper in his hand, and then changed into it as well.

Harry's eyes widened. "Mum Weasley is going to be very curious about where we got them from."

Severus smirked at thought of Molly's annoyance since they would never tell where the jumpers came from. "Let's get our robes and head over. We wouldn't want to face the wrath of Molly. We are already going to annoy her. "

Their eyes met as they both agreed: Molly Weasley's wrath was scarier than facing Death.

* * *

AN: Yengirl wrote a really nice scene to go with this. It is now posted as "From Death's Point of View: A Snowball's Chance Epilogue". Enjoy her contribution. ^-~


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